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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. fall — to drop
  7. craft — a skill
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rule — government
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a ring
  15. fall — the season
  16. last — final
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rule — a law
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. craft — boats
  24. pitcher — a jug

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