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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: snap · cell · capital · shower · wave · straw · dip · chip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chip — for betting
  9. dip — to sink
  10. capital — a city
  11. shower — rain
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. capital — money
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cell — a phone
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. snap — to click
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. capital — a big letter

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