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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. swing — in golf
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. court — of a king
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. court — of law
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. swing — to play on
  15. band — a music group
  16. bat — the animal
  17. last — to go on
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. court — for sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. swing — music

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