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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: chip · swing · file · hand · toast · rule · spring · race

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. file — a document
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. race — humankind
  14. swing — to play on
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spring — of water
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rule — government
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chip — to eat
  22. race — the arms race
  23. swing — music
  24. race — a contest

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