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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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Word bank
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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: land · game · mine · row · calf · rush · ruler · lie

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. land — a country
  3. rush — hurry
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. row — a line
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. game — a match
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. land — to come down
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. land — ground
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. lie — to recline
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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