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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: fall · clip · straw · arm · spring · can · content · chip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. can — a tin
  3. chip — for betting
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spring — the season
  7. content — the amount
  8. chip — to eat
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fall — to drop
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. clip — a video
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. fall — to drop
  16. can — a tin
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. fall — the season
  19. content — happy
  20. can — to be able to
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spring — of water

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