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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: straw · staff · trunk · swing · cue · cold · perch · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. swing — music
  3. track — a song
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cue — a hint
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. staff — employees
  11. swing — in golf
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. staff — employees
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. staff — a stick
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. perch — the fish
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — to play on

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