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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: cold · wake · straw · rash · fork · firm · scale · hide

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. firm — a company
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. scale — in music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. cold — an illness
  12. firm — steady
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cold — not warm
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wake — a trail
  20. firm — decided
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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