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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: bat · straw · rest · rash · cell · rush · mug · face

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rush — hurry
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rash — hasty
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rash — a series
  9. rest — a break
  10. mug — to rob
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. face — to confront
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. mug — a face
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bat — the animal

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