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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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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: band · kid · pit · straw · cell · ruler · mark · last

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. kid — child
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. last — final
  8. band — a ring
  9. cell — in biology
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pit — in a race
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. last — finally
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cell — a phone
  19. band — a music group
  20. last — to go on
  21. pit — a hole
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ruler — a monarch

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