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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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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: pop · bowl · fall · chip · chair · stick · current · straw

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fall — the season
  6. pop — to visit
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pop — soda
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. current — happening now
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pop — music

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