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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 120 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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. kid — child
  5. game — wild animals
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — to tease
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chip — for betting
  18. game — a match
  19. plane — a tool
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. safe — out of danger

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