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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. row — a line
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. file — a document
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rule — government
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. root — of a word
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chip — to eat
  15. row — to paddle
  16. file — a tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. rule — a law
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chair — a leader
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rule — to rule out

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