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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chip — to eat
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a ring
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tube — a container
  13. band — a music group
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting

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