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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — an illness
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. band — a ring
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. band — a music group
  20. kick — in football
  21. branch — a division
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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