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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: jam · charge · chip · clip · wound · lash · chest · rule

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chip — to eat
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rule — government
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — to cut
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. clip — a video
  12. rule — a law
  13. wound — an injury
  14. charge — electricity
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chest — a box
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. chest — of your body

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