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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. charge — in control
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. charge — a price
  13. hand — in cards
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chip — to eat
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. charge — electricity
  19. date — the fruit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — with an edge

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