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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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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: temple · land · roll · wave · chest · chip · snap · cell

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  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. cell — in biology
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — a cake
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. land — a country
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. land — to come down
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to click
  17. chest — a box
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. land — ground
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — for betting
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wave — of the sea
  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