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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: can · hand · cold · staff · straw · key · drill · field

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. can — to be able to
  4. staff — employees
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. staff — employees
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. can — a tin
  12. drill — the tool
  13. key — for a lock
  14. field — farmland
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. staff — a stick
  18. can — a tin
  19. field — a subject
  20. key — in music
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — army training
  23. field — for sport
  24. drill — a practice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com