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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: rash · straw · cell · stand · present · chip · clip · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — a series
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. present — the time now
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cell — in biology
  12. present — a gift
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stand — to bear
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. present — there
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chip — to eat
  24. clip — a video

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