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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · rest · hand · present · squash · fan · file · straw

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. present — there
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. squash — to crush
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. file — a line of people
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. file — a tool
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — the time now
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. squash — the sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chip — for betting
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. file — a document
  21. present — a gift
  22. rest — a break
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — a straw man

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