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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: chip · row · plane · hand · land · dip · charge · last

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. charge — electricity
  5. last — finally
  6. plane — a tool
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — a country
  9. dip — to sink
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a line
  12. charge — a price
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. chip — to eat
  18. charge — in control
  19. hand — help
  20. land — ground
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. plane — an aircraft

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