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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. ground — a position
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fine — high quality
  10. club — for golf
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fine — all right
  14. club — a group
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. club — for dancing
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. ground — the earth

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