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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: arm · pop · hand · field · wind · straw · cabinet · chip

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pop — soda
  6. field — a subject
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — for sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. field — farmland
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chip — to eat
  14. hand — help
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pop — music
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pop — to visit
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

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