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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: bear · staff · kid · straw · bowl · chip · cold · rush

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. chip — for betting
  3. rush — hurry
  4. kid — child
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. staff — employees
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bear — the animal
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. staff — employees
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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