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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · squash · wave · field · staff · straw · hide · wound

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. staff — employees
  4. squash — the sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — for sport
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. current — electric
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. field — farmland
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. current — of water

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