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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: staff · ground · last · wind · nail · wound · spell · chip

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — letters
  3. ground — a position
  4. spell — magic
  5. ground — the earth
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. staff — a stick
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. staff — employees
  20. last — finally
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. staff — employees

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