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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: lean · rule · rash · row · cell · content · kick · file

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. rule — government
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. kick — in football
  9. row — a line
  10. file — a tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. content — the amount
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lean — thin
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lean — to bend
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cell — in biology

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