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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.

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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. pop — to visit
  3. court — of a king
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. last — to go on
  7. band — a ring
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pop — music
  10. court — of law
  11. last — final
  12. band — a music group
  13. last — finally
  14. pop — soda
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rule — a law
  22. court — for sport
  23. rule — government
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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