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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: track · cold · rush · straw · hide · shower · saw · leaves

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. saw — the tool
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. track — a song
  22. saw — the tool
  23. shower — to wash
  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