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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. track — a song
  6. suit — in cards
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. suit — clothes
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. suit — to fit
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rash — a series
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. track — a path

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