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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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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 · racket · bank · squash · file · tear · dip · rest

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. file — a document
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bank — for money
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tear — from crying
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bank — of a river
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rest — what's left
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. squash — to crush
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. bank — for money
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. tear — to rip
  23. squash — the sport
  24. racket — for tennis

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