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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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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: wind · straw · rest · trunk · drill · rash · spring · deal

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rest — a break
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. drill — a practice
  12. spring — of water
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. deal — to handle
  18. spring — the season
  19. drill — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. drill — army training
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wind — moving air

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