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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: racket · tear · mate · row · rule · straw

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. mate — a friend
  5. tear — to rip
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rule — a law
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — to breed
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. mate — a partner
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis

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