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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. rule — government
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. band — a music group
  11. kick — in football
  12. land — a country
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chair — a leader
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. band — a ring
  19. rule — a law
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bowl — a football final

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