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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 · spring · bowl · stick · bank · straw · chair · fork

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bank — for money
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spring — of water
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bank — for money
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. spring — the season
  22. bank — of a river
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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