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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mug — a face
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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