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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: swing · wind · coach · kid · chest · row · branch · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chest — a box
  3. chip — to eat
  4. branch — a division
  5. kid — to tease
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. swing — music
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. swing — to play on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kid — child
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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