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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: object · plane · straw · stand · wound · cold · wind · season

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. object — to protest
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. wind — moving air
  5. season — in sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. object — a thing
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. object — an aim
  14. season — of the year
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stand — to bear

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