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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: straw · pitcher · net · ruler · cold · club

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. club — for dancing
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. club — a group
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. net — after costs
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. club — for golf

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