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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bark — to shout
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chip — for betting
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bat — the animal
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. capital — money
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — clever

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