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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: chest · bound · straw · rule · swing · chip · race · snap

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bound — tied together
  6. chip — for betting
  7. swing — in golf
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — a box
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — a contest
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bound — obliged
  18. snap — to click
  19. rule — government
  20. chest — of your body
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. race — the arms race
  23. swing — music
  24. bound — certain

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