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

Word bank: cold · straw · wind · stick · tube · ruler

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. tube — a container
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. straw — dry grass

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