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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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468
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: mine · pop · squash · cold · present · straw · arm · suit

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. suit — to fit
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cold — not warm
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. squash — the sport
  7. present — the time now
  8. pop — music
  9. present — a gift
  10. suit — in cards
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pop — soda
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mine — for digging
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. present — there
  23. cold — an illness
  24. arm — part of the body

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