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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: rock · lean · land · ruler · rush · hand · band · straw

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. lean — thin
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. land — ground
  9. hand — in cards
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. rush — hurry
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. land — a country
  16. rock — a stone
  17. land — to come down
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — help
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. straw — dry grass

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