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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: ruler · cell · band · stick · file · mate · pitcher · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a music group
  7. file — a tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — child
  11. mate — a friend
  12. band — a ring
  13. mate — a partner
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mate — to breed
  24. band — a rubber band

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