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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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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: date · bay · mate · cold · mine · arm · stand · straw

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stand — to bear
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mate — a friend
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — not warm

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