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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.

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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: kid · game · spring · file · straw · staff · wave · stick

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. staff — a stick
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — wild animals
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — of water
  15. staff — employees
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — child
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — to tease
  22. game — a match
  23. file — a tool
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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