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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: chest · present · chip · wave · clip · toast · bear · roll

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. chest — of your body
  3. present — a gift
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — bread
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. roll — a cake
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. clip — a video
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. present — there
  16. chip — for betting
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chip — to eat
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chest — a box
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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