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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: spring · present · hand · chip · deal · pitch · club · straw

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. present — a gift
  3. hand — help
  4. spring — of water
  5. club — a group
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. club — for golf
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. deal — to handle
  11. present — the time now
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pitch — completely
  15. spring — the season
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hand — in cards
  19. present — there
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chip — to eat
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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