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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: rush · mouse · hand · straw · chest · clip · tear · rule

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — government
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — in cards
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. hand — help
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rush — hurry
  24. tear — from crying

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