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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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Word bank
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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: kid · bowl · content · rule · mate · straw

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. content — happy
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. content — the amount
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mate — to breed
  16. kid — child
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mate — a friend

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