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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: straw · sharp · rash · cold · present · trunk · hand · rest

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rash — a series
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. present — there
  10. rest — a break
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rest — what's left
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — help
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rash — on the skin

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