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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 120 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: object · chest · pop · kid · chip · saw · race · rash

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chip — to eat
  4. race — the arms race
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. race — humankind
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pop — to visit
  18. race — a contest
  19. rash — a series
  20. saw — the tool
  21. object — a thing
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pop — soda
  24. rash — on the skin

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