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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: cap · row · bore · straw · cold · last · track · squash

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bore — to tire
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. track — a song
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cap — a lid
  11. last — final
  12. row — a line
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cap — a hat
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. track — a path
  19. squash — the sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cold — not warm

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