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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: hide · bound · land · shower · present · spell · chip · nail

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. present — there
  3. bound — certain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — magic
  6. present — a gift
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bound — obliged
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bound — tied together
  11. land — to come down
  12. spell — letters
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. land — ground
  20. present — the time now
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spell — a short time
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. shower — rain

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