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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: chip · ground · mate · kid · wake · chest · plane · firm

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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. chest — a box
  4. firm — decided
  5. firm — steady
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. firm — a company
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wake — a trail
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. mate — a friend
  21. kid — child
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mate — a partner

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