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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 116 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: row · rest · hand · cold · ruler · rash · chair · mate

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. hand — in cards
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rest — a break
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mate — a partner
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mate — a friend
  20. hand — help
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rash — a series
  24. row — a line

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