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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. squash — to crush
  3. file — a line of people
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. file — a tool
  9. mug — a face
  10. march — the month
  11. pop — to visit
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mug — a cup
  14. row — a line
  15. mug — to rob
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rule — government
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. march — the month
  20. row — to paddle
  21. file — a document
  22. pop — music
  23. march — music
  24. pop — soda

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