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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: kid · squash · row · rest · chip · arm · wave · game

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. game — a match
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kid — to tease
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kid — child
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. rest — what's left
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rest — a break
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chip — to eat
  24. row — a line

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