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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: snap · ruler · race · chest · mine · chip

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. snap — to click
  4. race — the arms race
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chest — a box
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — humankind

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