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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: squash · rash · straw · tear · tube · spell · cabinet · lean

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spell — letters
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tube — a container
  7. squash — the sport
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. lean — thin
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spell — magic
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spell — a short time
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. rash — a series

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