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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stand — to bear
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. shower — rain

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