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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · saw · present · hide · tube · face · rush · race

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. present — there
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rush — hurry
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. face — to confront
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. race — a contest
  13. present — a gift
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. race — the arms race
  16. face — to point toward
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. present — the time now
  19. tube — a container
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. race — humankind

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