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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: fan · wound · cell · coach · chip · land · spring · lean

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lean — to bend
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cell — in biology
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — the season
  14. land — a country
  15. lean — thin
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. spring — of water
  20. cell — a phone
  21. land — ground
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. land — to come down
  24. wound — an injury

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