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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: swing · last · tear · suit · straw · rule

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. suit — clothes
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. swing — to play on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. suit — to fit
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rule — government
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. suit — in cards
  15. rule — a law
  16. swing — music
  17. last — to go on
  18. tear — from crying

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