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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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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: row · cold · shower · fork · coach · chip · straw · stand

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. chip — for betting
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. row — a line
  14. fork — in a road
  15. stand — to bear
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. shower — to wash
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. row — to paddle

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