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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: rush · tube · straw · rule · row · shower

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. row — a line
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rule — a law
  7. shower — to wash
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. shower — rain
  12. tube — a container
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. row — to paddle
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tube — in a tire

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