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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: row · stem · rush · dip · wind · mouse · kick · straw

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rush — hurry
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. row — a line
  18. kick — in football
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. dip — to sink
  22. row — to paddle
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stem — a stem cell

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