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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: rule · race · bay · straw · cue · band · chair · net

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. 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. race — the arms race
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rule — government
  4. cue — for pool
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. chair — a leader
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cue — a hint
  12. race — a contest
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. band — a ring
  17. rule — a law
  18. cue — a signal
  19. band — a music group
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. race — humankind
  24. 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