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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: can · leaves · straw · mine · scale · land · drill · chip

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. land — to come down
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chip — for betting
  8. drill — the tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. drill — army training
  11. can — a tin
  12. scale — in music
  13. chip — to eat
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mine — for digging
  16. land — ground
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. land — a country
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. drill — a practice
  22. scale — size or range
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chip — in a computer

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