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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: straw · race · band · kick · row · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. race — a contest
  4. rule — a law
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. race — the arms race
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. band — a ring
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. row — to paddle
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. row — a line
  16. band — a music group
  17. rule — government
  18. kick — with a leg

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