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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 · snap · wave · spring · straw · toast · chip · capital

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. chip — to eat
  5. capital — a city
  6. toast — bread
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. snap — to click
  22. chip — for betting
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. toast — the most admired

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