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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 120 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: saw · chair · club · ruler · last · straw · pitcher · fall

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. saw — the tool
  4. club — a group
  5. last — final
  6. fall — the season
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. last — finally
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. club — for golf
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fall — to drop

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