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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 120 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: rule · squash · straw · kid · coach · tear · band · ground

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rule — government
  4. ground — a position
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. squash — to crush
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rule — a law
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. kid — child
  20. band — a ring
  21. tear — from crying
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ground — crushed

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