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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: chip · bark · chest · row · kid · hide · root · ball

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. row — a line
  5. chip — to eat
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. root — of a word
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ball — a great time
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bark — to shout
  22. root — the cause
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — child

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