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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: ball · current · hand · land · mark · staff · chest · bound

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — help
  6. chest — a box
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. land — a country
  9. bound — certain
  10. current — of water
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. staff — a stick
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. staff — employees
  18. bound — tied together
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. bound — obliged
  22. ball — a great time
  23. chest — of your body
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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