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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chest — of your body
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. chair — a leader
  8. kid — child
  9. chip — to eat
  10. ground — a position
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. date — the fruit
  14. ground — the earth
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chest — a box
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — to sit on

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