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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: chest · face · bowl · clip · rule · chip

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — a law
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chest — a box
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. clip — a video
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — to confront
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rule — government

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