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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: jam · squash · rash · file · kid · chip · net · snap

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rash — hasty
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — in sport
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. file — a line of people
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chip — for betting
  12. net — for catching
  13. file — a tool
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. file — a document
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. snap — to click
  21. rash — a series
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. net — after costs
  24. squash — to crush

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