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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
468
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: saw · straw · row · bass · prune · rash · bear · cold

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rash — hasty
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — to trim
  12. row — a line
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — a series
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bass — low music

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