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

Word bank: board · chest · present · lash · bat · chip

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chip — to eat
  3. present — the time now
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chest — a box
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — there
  12. chip — for betting
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. board — a committee
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. chest — of your body
  17. board — to get on
  18. chip — in a computer

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