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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: ruler · mate · snap · row · bound · tear · wound · tube

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. snap — to click
  4. mate — a partner
  5. tear — from crying
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mate — a friend
  15. row — a line
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. bound — obliged
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wound — an injury
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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