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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: temple · ruler · race · rule · mark · straw

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. race — humankind
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. rule — government
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mark — a trace
  11. race — a contest
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. mark — a grade
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ruler — for measuring

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