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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: hand · kid · race · chip · lean · last · object · spring

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — humankind
  4. chip — to eat
  5. last — final
  6. object — an aim
  7. last — finally
  8. object — a thing
  9. spring — a coil
  10. race — a contest
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. object — to protest
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spring — of water
  16. race — the arms race
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. kid — child
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. last — to go on
  24. spring — the season

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