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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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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: deal · straw · cold · wave · tear · chair · land · chip

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. deal — to handle
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. cold — an illness
  24. straw — a straw man

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