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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mate · lie · cold · rash · straw · current · arm · land

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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 — to clutch at straws
  2. mate — a partner
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mate — to breed
  6. current — electric
  7. rash — a series
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cold — not warm
  11. land — a country
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. current — of water
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. current — happening now
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rash — hasty
  23. mate — a friend
  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