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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · straw · mouse · wave · hand · lean · pitcher · root

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. hand — help
  5. root — of a plant
  6. lean — thin
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — of a word
  11. hand — in cards
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. root — the cause
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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