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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: kid · cue · branch · club · dip · land · bore · chip

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — ground
  4. club — for dancing
  5. kid — child
  6. club — a group
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bore — to drill
  11. land — a country
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. land — to come down
  14. branch — a division
  15. cue — a signal
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. club — for golf
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to tire
  20. cue — a hint
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cue — for pool
  23. chip — for betting
  24. branch — of a bank

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