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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: straw · wound · cap · toast · roll · tear · game · firm

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — of ice
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cap — a hat
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. wound — an injury
  7. firm — a company
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cap — a lid
  15. firm — steady
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. game — a match
  20. firm — decided
  21. toast — bread
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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