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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: hand · firm · wake · rule · straw · chip · spring · capital

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. capital — money
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — a city
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chip — to eat
  10. firm — decided
  11. spring — the season
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. firm — a company
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rule — a law
  19. firm — steady
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chip — for betting

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