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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: last · rule · spring · swing · rest · chip · race · straw

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. last — finally
  2. chip — for betting
  3. swing — music
  4. spring — the season
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. chip — to eat
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spring — of water
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rest — a break
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rest — what's left
  14. race — humankind
  15. last — to go on
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. rest — what's left
  19. race — a contest
  20. last — final
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — a coil
  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