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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: straw · chip · bowl · patient · rule · wind · row · temple

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rule — government
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chip — to eat
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. row — a line
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rule — a law
  24. row — to paddle

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