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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. 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. chip — to eat
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. drill — a practice
  10. toast — bread
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. band — a ring
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cap — of ice
  17. drill — army training
  18. band — a music group
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kick — in football
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. drill — the tool
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. 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