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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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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: trunk · straw · land · ruler · spring · cold · dip · rush

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spring — of water
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. rush — hurry
  12. spring — the season
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — an illness
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. dip — to sink
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. land — ground
  24. spring — a coil

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