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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: kid · bay · lash · file · chest · chip · racket · lean

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. kid — child
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. lean — thin
  11. chip — to eat
  12. kid — to tease
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. file — a tool
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lean — to bend
  19. file — a document
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. chip — in a computer

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