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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: race · kid · chair · chip · pit · net · chest · drill

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. drill — the tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chip — to eat
  8. net — after costs
  9. chest — of your body
  10. net — for catching
  11. chest — a box
  12. race — humankind
  13. pit — a hole
  14. race — a contest
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pit — in a race
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. net — in sport

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