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

Word bank: straw · file · wave · board · bowl · ground · chip · cold

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. file — a line of people
  7. chip — for betting
  8. board — to get on
  9. file — a document
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chip — to eat
  15. ground — a position
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. file — a tool
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. board — a committee
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. ground — crushed

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