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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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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: band · straw · ruler · court · spring · stick · wound · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. court — of a king
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. court — of law
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — for sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. band — a ring
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. band — a music group
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. wound — an injury

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