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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: fine · swing · kid · fork · cold · current · chip · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. current — of water
  3. chip — for betting
  4. fine — all right
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — a box
  7. fine — high quality
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. current — happening now
  10. cold — not warm
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — electric
  18. swing — music
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. chip — to eat
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. swing — in golf

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