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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: straw · game · press · toast · chip · wind · arm · file

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. press — newspapers
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — for betting
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. press — to push
  16. toast — bread
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. file — a document
  19. chip — to eat
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — wild animals

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