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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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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: toast · mouse · lash · mug · swing · cold · mate · straw

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. swing — music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mate — a friend
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. mug — a cup
  22. swing — in golf
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. toast — bread

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