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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: date · straw · rush · tear · mug · cold · scale · bore

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mug — a cup
  5. rush — hurry
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — not warm
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bore — to tire
  15. tear — to rip
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bore — to drill
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. mug — to rob
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cold — an illness
  24. date — the fruit

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