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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chip — for betting
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. net — for catching
  6. chip — to eat
  7. mark — a grade
  8. present — a gift
  9. ball — a dance
  10. net — in sport
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. mark — a trace
  17. net — after costs
  18. present — there
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. present — the time now
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chest — a box

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