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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · ball · stick · straw · swing · tear

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. swing — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ball — a dance
  18. straw — dry grass

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