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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: ground · straw · hand · stick · clip · tube · staff · rash

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. staff — a stick
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. hand — in cards
  8. tube — the underground
  9. staff — employees
  10. rash — hasty
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — employees
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rash — a series
  21. tube — a container
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ground — crushed

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