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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rule — a law
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. face — part of the head
  5. squash — to crush
  6. hand — in cards
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. band — a ring
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rule — government
  15. stand — to bear
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rush — hurry
  18. face — to confront
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. band — a music group
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. hand — help
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. stand — on your feet

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