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

Word bank: cell · cold · straw · pound · object · stand

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. stand — to bear
  5. object — an aim
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. straw — a straw man

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