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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.

Words on the sheet
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: chest · straw · cold · mouse · last · can · object · bark

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. object — a thing
  3. can — to be able to
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. last — final
  6. chest — a box
  7. last — to go on
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — not warm
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. can — a tin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. object — to protest
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. object — an aim
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bark — to shout
  23. can — a tin
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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