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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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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 · lash · chair · chest · date · roll · chip · clip

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chip — to eat
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. roll — a list
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chest — a box
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. roll — a cake
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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