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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mark — a trace
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rule — government
  10. stand — to bear
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rule — a law
  16. band — a music group
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. band — a ring
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stand — for spectators

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