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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: mark · land · stand · pound · cell · staff · chip · scale

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. staff — employees
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. scale — in music
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mark — a grade
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. staff — a stick
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pound — a weight
  18. scale — size or range
  19. staff — employees
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cell — in biology
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. land — a country
  24. chip — in a computer

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