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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 124 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. tube — a container
  3. object — an aim
  4. rule — a law
  5. spell — magic
  6. wind — moving air
  7. object — to protest
  8. tube — the underground
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wind — moving air
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. spell — letters
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spell — a short time
  18. object — a thing
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — government
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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