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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: straw · pound · bank · swing · tube · fall · stem · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fall — to drop
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rule — government
  11. stem — to come from
  12. tube — a container
  13. fall — the season
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pound — a weight
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bank — of a river
  23. swing — music
  24. stem — of a plant

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