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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: kid · present · squash · rash · bowl · straw · land · can

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. bowl — a dish
  3. can — a tin
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. can — to be able to
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. can — a tin
  9. present — a gift
  10. land — ground
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. present — the time now
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. squash — to crush
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. land — to come down
  18. rash — a series
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. land — a country
  21. present — there
  22. squash — the sport
  23. rash — hasty
  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