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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: chip · toast · staff · field · pop · straw · saw · rest

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pop — soda
  3. field — for sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. field — farmland
  6. chip — to eat
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. rest — a break
  10. saw — the tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rest — what's left
  15. field — a subject
  16. staff — a stick
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. staff — employees
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chip — for betting

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