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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: band · lean · sharp · stick · fan · cold · ground · straw

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lean — thin
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ground — crushed
  9. sharp — clever
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. band — a ring
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ground — the earth
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. ground — a position
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cold — not warm
  24. band — a music group

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