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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: band · hand · rule · object · rest · shower · rush · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. object — a thing
  3. rush — hurry
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rest — a break
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rule — a law
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rule — government
  12. rest — what's left
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hand — help
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — in cards
  20. object — to protest
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. object — an aim
  24. rush — a thrill

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