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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 120 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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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: cell · content · land · pound · chip · squash · safe · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chip — for betting
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cell — in biology
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. content — happy
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chip — to eat
  10. land — to come down
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. land — ground
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. squash — to crush
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. content — the amount
  23. land — a country
  24. cell — a phone

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