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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.

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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: hide · rest · cell · squash · straw · bear · club · rule

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rule — government
  5. rest — a break
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bear — the animal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. club — for dancing
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. club — a group
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. squash — to crush
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bear — the animal
  17. club — for golf
  18. squash — the sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rule — a law
  24. hide — to keep secret

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