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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 · pitcher · mark · club · cold · file · straw · court

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mark — a grade
  4. file — a line of people
  5. club — a group
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. club — for dancing
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. club — for golf
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. court — of law
  13. file — a document
  14. court — for sport
  15. file — a tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. court — of a king
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mark — to pay attention

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