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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: chest · pass · squash · lean · key · row · cell · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. chest — of your body
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — in music
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lean — thin
  10. key — for a lock
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chest — a box
  14. row — a line
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pass — a permit
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. squash — the vegetable

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