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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: cold · land · foot · wake · cap · straw · mouse · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cap — of ice
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. land — ground
  7. cap — a lid
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cap — a hat
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. land — a country
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wake — a trail
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — to come down
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cold — an illness

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