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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: kick · kid · bowl · file · current · chip · cap · mate

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. current — happening now
  4. mate — a partner
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kick — in football
  9. current — of water
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. file — a tool
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a document
  19. chip — for betting
  20. current — electric
  21. mate — to breed
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. kid — to tease

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