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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: date · cold · object · wind · coach · saw · straw · racket

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. saw — the tool
  6. object — to protest
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. object — an aim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cold — not warm
  16. date — the fruit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cold — an illness
  21. saw — the tool
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. racket — for tennis

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