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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: arm · straw · ground · kid · wind · rule · chip · wake

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. kid — to tease
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — child
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. wake — a trail
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wind — moving air

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