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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 · bore · deal · chip · lie · row · cell · coach

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. chip — for betting
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bore — to drill
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — in biology
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. chip — to eat
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. kid — to tease
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kid — child
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bore — to tire
  24. deal — to handle

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