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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: staff · band · rest · cabinet · cell · mouse · straw · rule

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. band — a ring
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. band — a music group
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rest — a break
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rule — a law
  19. staff — employees
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rule — government
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mouse — for a computer

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