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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: file · sharp · straw · fine · chair · coach · staff · row

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. file — a line of people
  4. sharp — clever
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. row — a line
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fine — all right
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fine — high quality
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chair — a leader
  18. staff — employees
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. staff — employees
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. row — to paddle

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