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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: rule · row · chip · bound · plane · straw · field · land

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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. land — ground
  4. rule — a law
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. row — a line
  10. chip — to eat
  11. plane — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bound — certain
  15. rule — government
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. field — farmland
  22. chip — for betting
  23. land — to come down
  24. field — for sport

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