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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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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: wind · rush · cell · rule · ball · straw · tube · tear

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. tube — a container
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. tube — the underground
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rule — government
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ball — a dance
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — a law
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. straw — a straw man

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