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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rule — government
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. last — to go on
  10. craft — boats
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. craft — a skill
  20. band — a ring
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rule — a law
  23. last — finally
  24. straw — dry grass

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