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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: wind · kid · tear · straw · charge · arm · ruler · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. tear — from crying
  6. charge — in control
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kid — child
  9. charge — a price
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. tear — to rip
  13. charge — electricity
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ruler — a monarch

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