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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: fall · kick · spring · arm · chip · drill · chest · rule

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kick — in football
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. fall — to drop
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rule — a law
  15. spring — of water
  16. drill — army training
  17. rule — government
  18. chest — a box
  19. chip — for betting
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fall — the season
  22. spring — the season
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chip — in a computer

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