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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · cell · pound · wind · chip · kid

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chest — a box
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kid — child
  15. chip — to eat
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kid — to tease

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