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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: chair · kid · band · cue · chip · racket · pitcher · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kid — child
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cue — a hint
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cue — a signal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chip — for betting
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cue — for pool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — help
  24. chip — to eat

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