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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: wind · row · track · rule · kick · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rule — a law
  10. track — a song
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. track — a path
  14. kid — child
  15. rule — government
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. row — a line

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