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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: pitcher · face · straw · ruler · ball · rush · tube · band

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — to confront
  3. rush — hurry
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. tube — a container
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ball — a great time
  20. tube — the underground
  21. ball — a dance
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. straw — dry grass

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