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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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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: can · arm · bore · chair · chip · row · coach · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. can — a tin
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. row — a line
  21. chair — a leader
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. row — to paddle

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