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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · hand · season · bowl · chip · bulb · shower · spell

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. chip — to eat
  3. spell — a short time
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chip — for betting
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. spell — magic
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — in cards
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. spell — letters
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. hand — help
  20. shower — rain
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bulb — for light
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chip — in a computer

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