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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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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 · straw · mouse · chest · root · ruler · coach · last

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. last — to go on
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. root — of a word
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. last — finally
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — final
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. root — the cause
  24. chest — a box

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