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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: straw · wind · chest · field · rest · rock · craft · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chest — a box
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chip — for betting
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. craft — boats
  9. rock — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rest — what's left
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — farmland
  20. rest — a break
  21. field — a subject
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. straw — dry grass

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