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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: shower · pass · foot · scale · chip · wound · land · bore

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. chip — for betting
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. land — ground
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. land — to come down
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. shower — rain
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wound — an injury
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pass — a permit
  14. land — a country
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. scale — in music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — to tire
  24. scale — size or range

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