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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: ruler · straw · drill · chest · spring · pit · chip · rule

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. drill — the tool
  5. spring — a coil
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chip — to eat
  8. drill — army training
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. pit — in a race
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. rule — government
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chest — a box
  23. rule — a law
  24. ruler — for measuring

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