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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: lash · chest · game · perch · mark · chip · clip · cabinet

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mark — a trace
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. clip — to cut
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. clip — a video
  21. chip — to eat
  22. game — a match
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. perch — the fish

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