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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: wound · straw · squash · rock · kick · rule · nail · lie

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rule — government
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — to crush
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rock — music
  9. kick — in football
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rule — a law
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. lie — to recline
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rock — a stone
  24. nail — for a hammer

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