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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. stand — to bear
  6. suit — to fit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. suit — in cards
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fork — in a road
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. suit — clothes
  24. stand — on your feet

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