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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 116 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: content · race · wound · rock · rule · ruler

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. race — a contest
  3. rule — a law
  4. rock — music
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. race — the arms race
  7. content — the amount
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. content — happy
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. rule — government
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. race — humankind
  18. 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