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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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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: chip · shower · fall · drill · perch · straw · spell · foot

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — to eat
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. perch — the fish
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fall — the season
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. shower — rain
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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