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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: straw · bass · fine · arm · saw · swing · cold · stick

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. saw — the tool
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fine — all right
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cold — not warm
  17. swing — music
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fine — high quality
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. swing — in golf
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. arm — a part of something

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