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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: plane · tear · foot · row · race · rule

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. rule — a law
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rule — government
  13. row — to paddle
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. row — a line
  18. plane — a tool

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