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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 116 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: press · wave · hand · chip · bat · land · nail · straw

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. hand — help
  3. land — ground
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chip — to eat
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. press — newspapers
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. press — a publisher
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. land — to come down
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. hand — in cards
  24. nail — on a finger

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