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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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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: arm · bark · ruler · degree · straw · band · rule · bass

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rule — a law
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a ring
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — an amount
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. band — a music group
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rule — government
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a rubber band

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