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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: kid · chip · wind · cue · season · content · perch · chest

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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 — for betting
  2. kid — child
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. season — in sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. content — happy
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chip — to eat
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cue — a hint
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. season — of the year
  23. cue — for pool
  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