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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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Word bank
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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: suit · hand · rule · rush · chip · spell · straw · mine

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spell — letters
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. suit — clothes
  7. suit — in cards
  8. chip — for betting
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. hand — help
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rule — a law
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rush — hurry
  16. spell — magic
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spell — a short time
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. suit — to fit
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chip — to eat

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