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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 · temple · rule · straw · pitcher · bear · club · wind

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. club — for dancing
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — moving air
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. club — for golf
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. club — a group

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