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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: cap · chip · band · fall · mate · squash · pound · chest

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a friend
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. mate — to breed
  8. squash — to crush
  9. chip — for betting
  10. band — a music group
  11. chip — to eat
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. band — a ring
  18. chest — a box
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fall — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cap — a lid

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