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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: straw · cold · foot · last · tear · squash · bear · safe

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — an illness
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. foot — a measure
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. last — final
  8. tear — from crying
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. tear — from crying
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. last — to go on
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bear — the animal
  24. last — finally

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