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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: rule · ruler · mine · kid · race · mate

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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. race — a contest
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. race — humankind
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mine — for digging

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