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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: wave · straw · row · mouse · dip · cold · roll · stick

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. roll — a list
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. roll — a cake
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — not warm
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. row — a line
  18. dip — to sink
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wave — with your hand

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