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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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 — for betting
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. squash — to crush
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — rain
  11. swing — to play on
  12. last — final
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. chip — to eat
  16. last — to go on
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pop — soda
  22. swing — music
  23. last — finally
  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