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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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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: squash · fall · ruler · chair · field · can · band · straw

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. fall — the season
  5. can — to be able to
  6. squash — to crush
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. can — a tin
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chair — a leader
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. field — for sport
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. can — a tin
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — farmland
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. field — a subject

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