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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: wake · plane · kid · arm · staff · land · rock · straw

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. land — to come down
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. wake — a trail
  7. staff — employees
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. land — a country
  10. staff — a stick
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. staff — employees
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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