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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 120 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: fall · chip · chest · spring · present · dip · kid · charge

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — a price
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fall — to drop
  5. charge — electricity
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — child
  8. chip — to eat
  9. present — there
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. dip — to sink
  12. kid — to tease
  13. charge — in control
  14. present — a gift
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chest — a box
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. present — the time now
  20. fall — the season
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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