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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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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: cell · snap · chest · bore · arm · chip · leaves · net

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. net — after costs
  3. chest — a box
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cell — a phone
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chip — to eat
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — for catching
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cell — in biology
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bore — to tire
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. net — in sport
  18. snap — to click
  19. bore — to drill
  20. chip — for betting
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bore — gave birth

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