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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. degree — temperature
  4. club — for dancing
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. club — for golf
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. degree — an amount
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. club — a group
  21. band — a music group
  22. rule — government
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in 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