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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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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: bear · chair · rush · straw · mug · current · cell · cold

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cell — a phone
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. current — happening now
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mug — a cup
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. mug — to rob
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mug — a face
  21. current — of water
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. current — electric
  24. cold — an illness

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