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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pass — a permit
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. chip — for betting
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. pass — to spend time

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