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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: squash · hide · field · mouse · chair · chip · wound · kid

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chip — for betting
  12. field — a subject
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — for sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chip — to eat
  23. field — farmland
  24. kid — to tease

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