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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: perch · snap · tube · chest · sharp · press · chip · arm

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. perch — the fish
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to click
  9. press — to push
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chip — to eat
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. sharp — clever
  15. tube — a container
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. sharp — exactly
  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