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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's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rock — music
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. band — a ring
  11. club — for golf
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rock — a stone
  14. staff — a stick
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. staff — employees
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fall — the season
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chair — a leader
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — a straw man

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