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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 120 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. spring — a coil
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rule — government
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pop — music
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pop — soda
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — to go on
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pop — to visit
  14. band — a ring
  15. last — final
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rule — a law
  22. last — finally
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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