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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. object — an aim
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. court — of a king
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. band — a ring
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. root — of a plant
  11. object — to protest
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. object — a thing
  16. branch — a division
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. content — happy
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. content — the amount
  24. band — a music group

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