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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 · chest · rash · swing · mark · wind

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. swing — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — a series
  8. rule — a law
  9. chest — a box
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rule — government
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mark — a trace

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