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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: chip · bat · straw · tear · stand · land · deal · pitcher

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. chip — for betting
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. land — to come down
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stand — to bear
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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