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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: club · stick · pitcher · cabinet · fall · cold · suit · saw

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. cold — an illness
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fall — the season
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. club — for golf
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. suit — to fit
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. suit — clothes
  15. cold — not warm
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. saw — the tool
  20. club — a group
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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