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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: board · straw · mine · leaves · rush · wind · tear · kick

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. board — a committee
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. board — to get on
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mine — for digging
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kick — in football
  23. tear — from crying
  24. board — a flat piece

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