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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: bound · face · pop · chest · kid · land · lie · chip

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. land — a country
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pop — soda
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pop — music
  9. face — to confront
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bound — certain
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. chip — to eat
  17. face — part of the head
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pop — to visit
  20. lie — to recline
  21. chest — a box
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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