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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 · bowl · race · hand · calf · roll · wind · prune

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. prune — to trim
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — humankind
  13. roll — a cake
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. prune — to trim
  19. hand — in cards
  20. roll — a list
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. prune — the fruit
  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