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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 · present · chip · wave · clip · toast

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. toast — bread
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. clip — to cut
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. present — the time now
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. clip — a video
  9. chest — of your body
  10. present — there
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chip — for betting
  14. present — a gift
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chest — a box
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wave — of the sea

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