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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: band · rule · leaves · season · straw · wind · arm · plane

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. rule — government
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. band — a ring
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rule — a law
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. band — a music group
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. plane — a tool
  17. season — of the year
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. season — in sport
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — a straw man

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