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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: straw · kick · drill · tear · last · stick

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. last — finally
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. tear — to rip
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kick — in football
  18. tear — from crying

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