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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · cold · squash · straw · hide · rush · content · chair

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. content — the amount
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chair — a leader
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rush — hurry
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. content — happy

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