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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. can — to be able to
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rule — a law
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tube — a container
  9. cold — not warm
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. can — a tin
  12. rule — government
  13. swing — to play on
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. can — a tin
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. swing — in golf
  23. cold — an illness
  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