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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. row — a line
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rule — a law
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. perch — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. kid — child
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rest — what's left
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rest — a break
  23. rush — hurry
  24. row — a quarrel

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