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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: fork · deal · present · straw · stand · cold

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stand — to bear
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. present — a gift
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. present — the time now
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fork — in a road
  15. deal — to handle
  16. present — there
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cold — not warm

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