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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 · calf · rule · row · wave · mine · chip · prune

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. row — a line
  4. rule — government
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chip — for betting
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wave — of the sea

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