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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. march — the month
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. rule — government
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. band — a music group
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. season — in sport
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. season — of the year
  23. band — a ring
  24. lash — an eyelash

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