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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tear — to rip
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chip — for betting
  9. net — in sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. net — after costs
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tear — from crying

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