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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mate — a friend
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. file — a tool
  8. mate — a partner
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mate — to breed

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