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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 120 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: hand · cold · saw · mouse · fan · stick · straw · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hand — help
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cold — not warm
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. hand — in cards

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