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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: track · dip · tear · land · chip · saw · band · ground

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chip — to eat
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chip — for betting
  5. track — a song
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — ground
  11. saw — the tool
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. band — a music group
  15. dip — to sink
  16. track — to keep track
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. tear — to rip
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. track — a path
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ground — crushed

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