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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: ground · mug · rash · kid · bark · chip · tear · chest

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — to rob
  4. ground — the earth
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ground — a position
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rash — a series
  21. kid — child
  22. mug — a cup
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mug — a face

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