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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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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: swing · straw · staff · key · file · chip · degree · wave

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. key — the most important part
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. swing — in golf
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. swing — music
  9. key — in music
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — an amount
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chip — for betting
  20. swing — to play on
  21. file — a tool
  22. key — for a lock
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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