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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 116 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: kick · rush · ground · saw · last · stick · wind · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. last — final
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — a position
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. last — to go on
  12. kick — in football
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — hurry
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. ground — the earth
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. tube — a container
  22. last — finally
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kick — 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