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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 · shower · row · spell · pass · staff · straw · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. staff — employees
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spell — a short time
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — letters
  19. rush — hurry
  20. spell — magic
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. shower — rain
  24. staff — employees

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