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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rule — government
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rule — a law
  15. prune — to trim
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. prune — to trim
  19. land — ground
  20. deal — to handle
  21. band — a ring
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. sharp — clever
  24. deal — a big deal

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