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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: toast · land · bark · chip · pitcher · chair · pound · mine

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pound — a weight
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. land — a country
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. land — to come down
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. land — ground
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. toast — bread
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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