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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · straw · hide · game · chip · pitcher · chest · mug

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mug — a cup
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. mug — to rob
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chip — for betting
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mug — a face
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chip — to eat

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