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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: saw · craft · squash · straw · fine · roll · cold · pop

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. squash — to crush
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pop — music
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. fine — all right
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. saw — the tool
  14. craft — boats
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. roll — a list
  17. fine — high quality
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — an illness

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