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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 124 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.

Make a worksheet

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

Words on the sheet
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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: wave · rush · wake · straw · roll · chair · calf · file

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wake — a trail
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. file — a document
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. roll — a list
  22. chair — a leader
  23. file — a tool
  24. wake — before a funeral

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