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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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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: rule · stock · mouse · chip · wind · spring · coach · hand

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. spring — the season
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — government
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stock — shares
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. stock — goods
  21. spring — of water
  22. hand — help
  23. rule — a law
  24. spring — a coil

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