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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. charge — a price
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. kid — to tease
  13. charge — in control
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. charge — electricity
  17. land — ground
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. vault — a safe
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. chest — a box

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