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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: pass · land · fork · toast · straw · ground · cold · jam

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. land — ground
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. land — to come down
  12. ground — a position
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. toast — bread
  17. fork — in a road
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. land — a country

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