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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: ruler · charge · row · fall · race · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. race — a contest
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — in control
  11. race — humankind
  12. charge — a price
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kid — child
  18. row — to paddle

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