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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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Word bank
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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: cell · band · pop · squash · ruler · straw

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pop — to visit
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. squash — to crush
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. band — a ring
  13. cell — a phone
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. squash — the sport
  16. band — a music group
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cell — in a prison

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