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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: content · hand · rock · chip · mine · bowl · rule · rest

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rule — a law
  5. chip — for betting
  6. hand — help
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rock — music
  13. rule — government
  14. content — the amount
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. content — happy
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. hand — in cards

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