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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. swing — to play on
  6. file — a tool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. swing — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. file — a document
  21. swing — in golf
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. file — a line of people

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