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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: ground · staff · wake · straw · patient · rush · leaves · foot

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. staff — a stick
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. staff — employees
  5. ground — a position
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. staff — employees
  13. rush — hurry
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. ground — the earth
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wake — a trail
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. foot — a measure
  23. patient — a sick person
  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