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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: wound · rush · drill · chest · kick · chip · pop · perch

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chest — a box
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. pop — music
  14. kick — in football
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. chip — for betting
  24. drill — army training

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