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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 · ground · chip · perch · march · kid · hand · lash

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. 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. chip — to eat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. march — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — a position
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. perch — the fish
  12. kid — child
  13. march — the month
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rule — a law
  21. march — the month
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. ground — the earth
  24. 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