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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 116 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: wake · file · wave · swing · hand · straw · chip · rule

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. file — a tool
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. wake — a trail
  7. hand — help
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a document
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rule — a law
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. hand — in cards
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chip — to eat
  21. rule — government
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. chip — in a computer

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