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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 120 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 · sharp · fall · pitcher · root · straw · stick · bass

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fall — the season
  5. bass — low music
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. root — of a word
  18. bass — the fish
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. root — the cause
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — a straw man

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