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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: cold · chip · straw · kick · chest · snap

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. chest — a box
  3. snap — to click
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chip — to eat
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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