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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: stick · rock · straw · cold · spell · wound · fine · squash

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rock — music
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fine — all right
  17. spell — a short time
  18. squash — the sport
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. fine — high quality
  21. spell — magic
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wound — an injury

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