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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: rule · straw · row · cabinet · fan · jam · wound · race

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rule — government
  5. race — the arms race
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. row — a line
  12. race — humankind
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rule — a law
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. race — a contest
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — an injury

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