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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 116 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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. 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. hand — part of the body
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chip — to eat
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — help
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mine — for digging
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. last — final
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. 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