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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.

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: fan · chip · cell · wound · land · stem

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chip — for betting
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chip — to eat
  8. land — a country
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. land — ground
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cell — in biology

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