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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: can · cold · board · straw · kick · mate · wax · staff

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. staff — a stick
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. board — to get on
  5. mate — to breed
  6. staff — employees
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mate — a partner
  9. staff — employees
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mate — a friend
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. board — a committee
  24. kick — in football

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