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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: straw · wake · sharp · can · chair · tube · hand · drill

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. drill — army training
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. sharp — clever
  10. drill — the tool
  11. tube — a container
  12. can — a tin
  13. drill — a practice
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wake — a trail
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. hand — help
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tube — the underground

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