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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: rest · can · chip · pitcher · racket · cold · straw · leaves

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. can — a tin
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rest — a break
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chip — for betting
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. can — to be able to
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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