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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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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 · cell · ball · suit · kid · row · chip · board

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. row — a line
  4. chip — for betting
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. board — to get on
  8. chest — of your body
  9. suit — in cards
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cell — in biology
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. ball — a dance
  14. chest — a box
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chip — to eat
  18. board — a committee
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. suit — to fit
  23. row — to paddle
  24. ball — a round shape

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