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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: fork · last · ruler · wind · cold · straw · pop · bowl

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pop — soda
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. last — final
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. pop — music
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. last — to go on
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pop — to visit

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