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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: land · lean · wind · chip · roll · nail · bat · chair

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wind — moving air
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — to come down
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wind — moving air
  9. roll — a cake
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — for betting
  14. lean — to bend
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lean — thin
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. land — ground
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chip — to eat

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