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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: straw · cue · bore · court · rush · spring · rash · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. rash — a series
  5. bore — to drill
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rush — hurry
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bore — to tire
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rash — hasty
  23. court — of law
  24. rush — a thrill

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