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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: rule · last · mine · straw · row · wake · land · racket

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rule — a law
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rule — government
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wake — a trail
  9. row — to paddle
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. last — final
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. land — to come down
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. last — finally
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. last — to go on
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. land — a country

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