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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: game · chest · rush · chip · rule · bore · rash · drill

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rush — hurry
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. drill — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — a law
  10. drill — army training
  11. rash — hasty
  12. game — a match
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — government
  22. rash — a series
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chest — a box

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