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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: wind · land · last · pitcher · chip · fan · staff · bear

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — to come down
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. staff — a stick
  11. land — a country
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. staff — employees
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. last — final
  17. bear — the animal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. staff — employees
  22. land — ground
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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