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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: branch · chip · rule · cold · rash · chest · key · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chest — of your body
  3. race — a contest
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chip — for betting
  7. branch — a division
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. key — in music
  10. chest — a box
  11. race — humankind
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rule — government
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chest — of your body
  20. key — the most important part
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rule — a law
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rash — on the skin

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