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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · rush · spring · mouse · kick · cold · lean · board

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. kick — in football
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. cold — an illness
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rush — hurry
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. board — a committee
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. board — to get on
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. lean — thin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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