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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: rock · kid · snap · chest · track · chip · dip · racket

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. dip — to sink
  3. track — a path
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rock — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — child
  8. track — a song
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chip — to eat
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chest — a box
  15. chip — for betting
  16. snap — to click
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. track — to keep track
  24. racket — for tennis

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