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

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — a leader
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. file — a tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — in a race
  19. drill — the tool
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. drill — army training

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