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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: key · cold · temple · swing · trunk · file · straw · stand

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. key — for a lock
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. key — in music
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. swing — to play on
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cold — an illness
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. file — a document
  22. key — the most important part
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a car

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