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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: rush · wind · cue · bark · root · bear · straw · band

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. root — of a plant
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a ring
  8. root — of a word
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — hurry
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. root — the cause
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. cue — a signal
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cue — a hint
  20. band — a music group
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bark — of a tree

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