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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: kick · can · band · kid · ruler · rule · straw · season

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rule — a law
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. can — to be able to
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rule — government
  18. can — a tin
  19. band — a ring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. season — of the year
  24. kick — in football

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