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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.

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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: cap · wind · root · saw · chest · race · cold · straw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cap — a lid
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chest — a box
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. race — the arms race
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. root — the cause
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cap — of ice
  14. root — of a word
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cold — not warm
  18. root — of a plant
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wind — to turn a key

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