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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: lean · straw · rush · chip · cell · rule · present · roll

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. present — there
  4. roll — a cake
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chip — for betting
  7. lean — to bend
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. present — the time now
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. chip — to eat
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. roll — a list
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cell — in biology
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. straw — a straw man

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