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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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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: lean · chip · game · bear · band · straw · chest · bore

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. game — a match
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bore — to tire
  12. lean — to bend
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bore — to drill
  15. band — a music group
  16. lean — thin
  17. chip — to eat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chest — of your body

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