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

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bound — tied together
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ruler — for measuring

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