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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: row · firm · bowl · ruler · game · kid · rush · cold

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. kid — child
  6. firm — steady
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. firm — a company
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. game — a match
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cold — not warm
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. firm — decided
  24. cold — an illness

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