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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: bowl · hand · saw · straw · drill · staff · cap · band

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hand — in cards
  7. drill — army training
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cap — of ice
  10. staff — employees
  11. hand — help
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a ring
  15. cap — a lid
  16. staff — employees
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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