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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: spell · club · chest · rash · wind · staff · race · rule

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spell — magic
  6. race — a contest
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chest — a box
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rule — a law
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — government
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. race — humankind
  21. rash — a series
  22. club — for dancing
  23. race — the arms race
  24. staff — employees

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