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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: chair · rule · straw · mate · wake · cap

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wake — a trail
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mate — to breed
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mate — a friend
  17. chair — a leader
  18. straw — a straw man

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