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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: chest · fork · spell · plane · band · mug · cold · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — a cup
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mug — a face
  6. plane — a tool
  7. chest — a box
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. band — a ring
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spell — letters
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mug — to rob
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spell — magic
  24. band — a music group

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