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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: land · ground · staff · mouse · bat · net · chip · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — to go on
  4. staff — a stick
  5. net — for catching
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. land — a country
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. land — to come down
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. ground — a position
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chip — to eat
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. land — ground
  18. net — after costs
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. net — in sport
  21. ground — crushed
  22. last — final
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chip — for betting

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