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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: straw · shower · bat · pound · plane · date · fan · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. date — the fruit
  8. shower — rain
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. plane — a tool
  11. pound — a weight
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. chip — for betting
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — an aircraft

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