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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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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: chip · fork · press · band · land · rest · kid · scale

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — child
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. band — a ring
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. kid — to tease
  13. band — a music group
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. scale — in music
  17. rest — a break
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. land — to come down
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. scale — size or range
  24. chip — for betting

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