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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. court — of law
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a music group
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. court — for sport
  10. perch — the fish
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. tube — a container
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. sharp — clever
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. court — of a king
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. band — a ring

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