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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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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: rest · chip · tear · chest · cue · bat · cabinet · pitcher

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cue — a signal
  18. chest — a box
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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