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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: present · fall · shower · firm · chest · clip · chip · foot

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. chip — to eat
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chest — a box
  5. clip — for paper
  6. firm — decided
  7. present — a gift
  8. chip — for betting
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. present — there
  12. present — the time now
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — to cut
  17. firm — steady
  18. foot — a measure
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. shower — rain
  23. firm — a company
  24. foot — part of the body

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