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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: chip · wave · snap · chest · rush · kick · cell · racket

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. rush — hurry
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — to eat
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. snap — to click
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. kick — in football
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chest — a box
  22. cell — in biology
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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