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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: key · squash · straw · hand · rush · row · lie · saw

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. squash — the sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rush — hurry
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. hand — help
  15. row — a line
  16. key — in music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. row — to paddle
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. key — for a lock
  22. saw — the tool
  23. lie — to recline
  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