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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: track · ruler · present · bat · straw · chest · scale · rule

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. present — there
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — a gift
  9. track — a song
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. chest — a box
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. track — to keep track
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. track — a path

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