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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: racket · land · content · chip · shower · hand · fall · bound

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. shower — to wash
  3. content — happy
  4. hand — help
  5. fall — to drop
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bound — tied together
  8. shower — rain
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. land — a country
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. bound — certain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bound — obliged

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