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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: court · spell · chest · chip · lie · straw · row · spring

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lie — to recline
  10. court — of law
  11. spell — a short time
  12. chest — a box
  13. spring — of water
  14. row — to paddle
  15. court — for sport
  16. row — a line
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. court — of a king
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. spring — the season

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