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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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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: land · wound · pound · arm · lash · sharp · chair · chip

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — a leader
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — for betting
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. land — ground
  24. arm — part of the body

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