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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 120 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 · row · pound · bowl · kid · last · rest · hand

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. last — to go on
  4. row — a line
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pound — a weight
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rule — a law
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rest — a break
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — help
  20. last — finally
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. kid — child
  24. rest — what's left

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