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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: land · cell · spell · bark · temple · kick · shower · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. spell — letters
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. shower — rain
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. spell — magic
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — to eat
  10. land — ground
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. land — to come down
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kick — in football
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chip — in a computer

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