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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. charge — electricity
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rash — a series
  15. charge — a price
  16. chip — to eat
  17. charge — in control
  18. chip — in a computer

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