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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 116 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 · cabinet · tear · row · leaves · spring · straw

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. row — a line
  5. rush — hurry
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. spring — of water
  11. row — to paddle
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. tear — to rip
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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