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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · land · wax · kid · pound · rash · saw · pitcher

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pound — a weight
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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