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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: net · chip · kid · track · mine · bound · face · cabinet

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. track — a song
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. net — in sport
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bound — obliged
  17. face — to confront
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. track — a path
  22. face — to point toward
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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