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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 116 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 · land · bat · wave · season · bound · kid · nail

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bound — certain
  5. land — a country
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. land — to come down
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bound — obliged
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. land — ground
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. season — of the year
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. season — in sport
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. kid — child
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kid — to tease
  24. nail — for a hammer

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