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

Word bank: chest · chip · present · racket · pound · mine

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. present — the time now
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. present — there
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chest — a box
  13. chip — for betting
  14. present — a gift
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chip — to eat
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pound — for dogs

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