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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: band · chip · chest · land · staff · mug · content · bound

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — to rob
  6. chest — a box
  7. content — the amount
  8. bound — tied together
  9. band — a ring
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — to come down
  12. chip — to eat
  13. staff — employees
  14. bound — obliged
  15. content — happy
  16. staff — a stick
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bound — certain
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. band — a music group
  24. content — videos and posts

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