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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: rest · row · cell · can · leaves · straw · cue · cold

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cue — a hint
  8. can — a tin
  9. row — a line
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cue — a signal
  13. can — a tin
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cell — in biology
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rest — a break

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