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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: mine · rule · chip · root · file · wound · bat · stick

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. file — a tool
  5. root — of a word
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bat — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. rule — a law
  15. chip — for betting
  16. file — a document
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chip — to eat
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. root — the cause
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — for digging

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