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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 124 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. kick — in football
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chest — a box
  13. rule — government
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rock — music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — the season
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. spring — of water
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chip — for betting

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