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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: chest · ground · fine · hand · saw · chip · prune · fan

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chip — for betting
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fine — all right
  22. ground — a position
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. hand — help

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