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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rule — government
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a line of people
  11. band — a music group
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — to come down
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. band — a ring
  16. season — in sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. season — of the year
  19. file — a tool
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a document
  24. land — a country

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