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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: pound · stick · bat · straw · row · rule · mine · rash

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rule — government
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rule — a law
  10. rash — a series
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pound — a weight
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mine — belonging to me

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