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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 116 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 · tear · rest · chip · wake · pitch · clip · bank

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bank — of a river
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chip — for betting
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bank — for money
  13. chip — to eat
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. tear — to rip
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bank — for money
  24. tear — from crying

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