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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: squash · rest · pass · row · cold · suit · date · straw

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — to paddle
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. suit — in cards
  6. rest — a break
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. suit — clothes
  11. rest — what's left
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. date — the fruit
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. suit — to fit
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rest — what's left
  23. row — a line
  24. date — on the calendar

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