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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: row · kid · wake · straw · ruler · file · spell · charge

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. file — a document
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spell — magic
  11. charge — electricity
  12. row — to paddle
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. file — a tool
  16. charge — in control
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. row — a line
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. charge — a price
  24. wake — a trail

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