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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 116 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: content · dip · staff · bore · net · kid · chip · chair

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kid — child
  4. chip — for betting
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. dip — to sink
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chip — to eat
  11. net — for catching
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bore — to drill
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. staff — a stick
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. staff — employees

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