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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fall — the season
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rash — a series
  14. court — of law
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. game — a match
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. rule — government

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