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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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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: straw · stem · fan · pitch · saw · cold · rest · coach

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rest — a break
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. pitch — completely

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