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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: chest · chip · wind · coach · hide · pitcher · straw · stem

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chip — for betting
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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