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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: pit · hand · snap · chest · rule · rest · root · clip

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rule — a law
  8. chest — a box
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hand — help
  11. clip — a video
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pit — a hole
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. clip — to cut
  20. snap — to click
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rule — government

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