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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: ruler · club · face · row · band · court · leaves · straw

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. court — for sport
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. band — a ring
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. club — for dancing
  9. face — part of the head
  10. club — a group
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. court — of law
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. row — a line
  15. court — of a king
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. face — to point toward
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. band — a music group
  24. club — for golf

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