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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: rule · club · straw · content · cold · present · mouse · tear

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — not warm
  5. content — happy
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. present — a gift
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rule — government
  13. content — the amount
  14. present — there
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rule — a law
  19. club — a group
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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