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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: swing · rule · wake · straw · kid · wind · plane · court

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. swing — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rule — a law
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. court — for sport
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. court — of law
  19. plane — a tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kid — child
  24. court — of a king

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