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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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. jam — a tight spot
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. content — the amount
  7. charge — a price
  8. content — happy
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. cold — not warm
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — an illness
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. charge — electricity
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. charge — in control
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. jam — in traffic

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