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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: rule · plane · mate · row · chip · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chip — to eat
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. rule — a law
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rule — government
  13. row — to paddle
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chip — in a computer

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