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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: bass · stock · object · straw · drill · wave · fan · cold

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. 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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cold — not warm
  3. object — to protest
  4. stock — shares
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bass — low music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. object — a thing
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stock — goods
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. object — an aim
  24. 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