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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: kid · wind · chip · ruler · date · rest

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rest — a break
  3. chip — to eat
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chip — for betting
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rest — what's left
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. kid — child
  18. date — on the calendar

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