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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: straw · band · perch · hide · rule · cell · pop · wound

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pop — soda
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. rule — a law
  11. cell — in biology
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pop — music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rule — government
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pop — to visit
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cell — a phone

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