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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: straw · racket · key · band · degree · fall · wound · ruler

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. band — a music group
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. band — a ring
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wound — an injury
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wound — an injury
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fall — to drop
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fall — the season
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. key — for a lock
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. key — in music

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