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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: arm · fork · cold · saw · spring · mug · squash · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mug — a face
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. fork — in a road
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mug — a cup
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. squash — to crush
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mug — to rob

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