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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: wave · can · stick · cold · staff · straw · leaves · ruler

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. can — to be able to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. can — a tin
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. staff — employees
  22. can — a tin
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. wave — with your hand

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