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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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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: root · plane · game · chip · chest · kid

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. kid — child
  4. plane — a tool
  5. root — the cause
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — for betting
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — to tease
  14. root — of a word
  15. chest — of your body
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. chest — a box
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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