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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: chest · snap · squash · tube · chip · wound · bowl · season

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. chest — a box
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chest — of your body
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chip — for betting
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tube — a container
  21. snap — to click
  22. wound — an injury
  23. squash — the sport
  24. tube — the underground

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