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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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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: wind · straw · stick · game · chest · mouse · deal · staff

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — a stick
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. staff — employees
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — employees
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. game — a match
  24. wind — moving air

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