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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: kick · band · race · face · straw · rule

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a music group
  6. face — to confront
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. race — the arms race
  9. face — part of the head
  10. band — a ring
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. race — a contest
  15. rule — a law
  16. kick — in football
  17. face — to point toward
  18. race — humankind

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