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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: bound · straw · cold · stick · tube · key · season · bat

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cold — not warm
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bound — certain
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. key — the most important part
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bat — the animal
  14. key — for a lock
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. season — in sport
  17. bound — obliged
  18. season — of the year
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tube — a container
  22. key — in music
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cold — the Cold War

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