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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 116 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: rule · wake · straw · racket · swing · file · scale · cell

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. file — a tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. scale — size or range
  11. file — a document
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cell — a phone
  16. swing — in golf
  17. file — a line of people
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. scale — in music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rule — government

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