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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: suit · current · row · cold · pitch · straw · date · saw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. date — the fruit
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cold — an illness
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pitch — completely
  10. row — to paddle
  11. current — of water
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. row — a line
  22. current — electric
  23. saw — the tool
  24. current — happening now

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