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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: present · straw · stand · mouse · stem · wind · kid · rush

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. present — the time now
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. present — there
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kid — child
  9. present — a gift
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rush — hurry
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. straw — dry grass

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