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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 120 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 · wind · degree · wound · face · hand · kick · rule

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. face — to confront
  3. chip — for betting
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. hand — help
  8. rule — government
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. degree — an amount
  14. kick — in football
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. degree — temperature
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chip — to eat
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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