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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: coach · spell · rule · chest · wind · ground · chip · file

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spell — magic
  4. chip — for betting
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. ground — a position
  7. file — a tool
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a document
  11. chip — to eat
  12. ground — the earth
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rule — a law
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chest — a box
  18. spell — a short time
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spell — letters
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. coach — a trainer

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