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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: bass · saw · straw · rash · rule · cold · cap · content

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. content — happy
  6. rule — government
  7. bass — low music
  8. saw — the tool
  9. content — the amount
  10. rash — a series
  11. cap — of ice
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cold — not warm

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