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

Word bank: bear · field · straw · chip · chest · rule

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rule — government
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. bear — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chest — of your body
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. field — farmland
  17. chip — to eat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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