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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: rush · snap · roll · plane · bat · chest · sharp · chip

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chest — a box
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — a cake
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. plane — a tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. snap — to click
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. sharp — clever
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bat — for baseball

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