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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 116 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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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: staff · cabinet · kid · saw · straw · deal · bowl · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kid — to tease
  3. saw — the tool
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. staff — employees
  8. kid — child
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. deal — to handle
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. staff — employees
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bowl — a dish

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