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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: rock · wind · pit · straw · trunk · toast · rash · spell

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pit — a hole
  9. toast — bread
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. spell — magic
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pit — in a race
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. spell — a short time
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spell — letters
  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