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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 · kid · stand · kick · race · scale · saw

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. rule — a law
  3. race — a contest
  4. kid — to tease
  5. race — the arms race
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. kick — in football
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rule — government
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — child
  24. straw — dry grass

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