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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · straw · rest · bass · shower · staff · cold · sharp

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. staff — employees
  9. rest — a break
  10. cold — not warm
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. staff — a stick
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. staff — employees
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — rain

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