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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: rush · deal · tear · rule · last · row · race · game

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. row — to paddle
  3. last — finally
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. game — a match
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — to go on
  19. row — a line
  20. last — final
  21. rush — hurry
  22. tear — from crying
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. game — wild animals

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