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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: mate · chest · rash · kid · bass · squash · chip · cell

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rash — a series
  4. bass — low music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rash — hasty
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cell — a phone
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chest — of your body
  16. squash — the sport
  17. kid — child
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chest — a box
  24. cell — in biology

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