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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: cold · ruler · band · toast · stick · bound · swing · hand

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. band — a music group
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. hand — in cards
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. hand — help
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cold — not warm
  18. swing — music
  19. bound — tied together
  20. toast — bread
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. swing — in golf
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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