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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: present · ruler · cold · shower · rash · firm · chip · land

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rash — a series
  3. cold — an illness
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — steady
  6. chip — to eat
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. cold — not warm
  10. firm — decided
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. land — to come down
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. present — there
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. present — the time now
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chip — for betting
  23. shower — rain
  24. present — a gift

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