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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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Word bank
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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 · foot · wound · wake · hide · degree · chip · chair

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. foot — a measure
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chip — for betting
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. degree — from a university
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wound — an injury
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — a professorship

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