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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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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: chip · kid · ground · staff · land · shower · bank · stem

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — a position
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — to come down
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bank — of a river
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chip — for betting
  21. staff — a stick
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. shower — rain

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