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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 120 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: firm · wake · game · straw · staff · capital · saw · dip

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. staff — a stick
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. staff — employees
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — a city
  11. dip — to sink
  12. capital — money
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — a trail
  17. firm — a company
  18. game — a match
  19. firm — steady
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. saw — the tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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