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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: cold · bowl · kick · season · saw · straw · dip · cabinet

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. season — in sport
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. saw — the tool
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — of the year

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