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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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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 · chest · saw · cue · straw · tear · band · toast

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. band — a ring
  5. toast — bread
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cue — a signal
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. band — a music group
  12. rush — hurry
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cue — a hint
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chest — a box
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tear — from crying
  24. saw — the tool

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