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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hand — in cards
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hand — help
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. wake — a trail
  15. swing — music
  16. chip — to eat
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chip — for betting
  20. capital — money
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. capital — a city
  24. straw — a straw man

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