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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bore — to drill
  8. rest — what's left
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rest — a break
  11. kid — child
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. present — a gift
  15. chip — for betting
  16. squash — to crush
  17. present — the time now
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bore — to tire
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. present — there
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. cold — an illness

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