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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: racket · cold · stand · spell · last · straw · foot · mine

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spell — magic
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spell — letters
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stand — to bear
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — to go on
  16. mine — for digging
  17. last — final
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. last — finally
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. foot — a measure
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spell — a short time

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