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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: straw · drill · squash · rush · hide · stem · rash · degree

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. drill — a practice
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. degree — from a university
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rush — hurry
  11. drill — army training
  12. squash — the sport
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. drill — the tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rash — hasty
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rash — a series
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stem — to come from

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