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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 120 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: racket · straw · hide · rush · degree · last · kid · wave

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. last — finally
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. degree — from a university
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. last — final
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — to go on
  19. degree — temperature
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kid — child

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