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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 116 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: hand · tear · pass · coach · kid · chip

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chip — to eat
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. kid — child
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hand — in cards
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pass — a permit

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