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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: swing · spell · tube · trunk · face · straw · rush · rest

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rest — a break
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. swing — music
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. tube — the underground
  8. spell — magic
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rush — hurry
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. spell — a short time
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — letters
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a tree

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