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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: cold · chip · rash · rule · wound · swing · bear · ruler

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. swing — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. cold — an illness
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rule — a law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. rule — government
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. swing — in golf

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