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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: drill · trunk · straw · bound · game · kid · content · rush

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bound — tied together
  6. content — happy
  7. drill — the tool
  8. game — a match
  9. kid — to tease
  10. content — the amount
  11. kid — child
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bound — certain
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bound — obliged
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. drill — army training
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. straw — a straw man

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