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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: fall · straw · hide · bear · rush · ground · saw · last

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. ground — the earth
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — a position
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. last — to go on
  13. fall — the season
  14. last — finally
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. ground — crushed
  24. last — final

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