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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
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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: tube · roll · clip · hand · chip · straw · staff · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — a video
  3. staff — employees
  4. tube — the underground
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chip — for betting
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. hand — help
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. chip — to eat
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tube — a container
  16. roll — a cake
  17. clip — to cut
  18. staff — a stick
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — for paper
  24. straw — dry grass

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