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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 120 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: rush · craft · straw · cold · object · wound · rest · racket

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. object — to protest
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — an illness
  5. craft — boats
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rest — a break
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. object — a thing
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cold — not warm
  22. craft — a skill
  23. object — an aim
  24. rest — what's left

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