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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
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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: wake · straw · scale · cold · nail · lean · pit · mug

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pit — a hole
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pit — in a race
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. scale — in music
  11. mug — a cup
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. scale — size or range
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a face
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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