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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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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: rest · straw · ground · cold · rock · drill · firm · spring

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. drill — the tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. firm — decided
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rock — a stone
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rest — a break
  10. ground — crushed
  11. rock — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — army training
  14. spring — the season
  15. firm — steady
  16. spring — of water
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — not warm
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — a coil
  24. firm — a company

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