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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: drill · chip · cell · kid · perch · dip · date · chair

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cell — a phone
  8. drill — army training
  9. chip — to eat
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. date — the fruit
  16. dip — to sink
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chair — to sit on

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