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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 116 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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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: tube · cold · snap · cue · straw · rush · kick · ruler

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cue — for pool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. snap — to click
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. kick — in football
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tube — a container
  23. cold — not warm
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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