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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 120 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: tear · chip · current · wake · straw · wound · arm · mug

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. current — happening now
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — a cup
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. current — of water
  17. chip — for betting
  18. tear — from crying
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wake — a trail
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. current — electric
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. arm — part of the body

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