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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: hand · straw · march · rule · pound · pit · court · mate

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rule — government
  4. pound — a weight
  5. court — of a king
  6. pit — in a race
  7. march — the month
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. march — music
  10. rule — a law
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — the month
  14. court — of law
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. hand — help
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pit — a hole
  23. court — for sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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