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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 116 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: deal · rest · chip · land · hand · row · mine · drill

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chip — for betting
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chip — to eat
  11. land — ground
  12. hand — in cards
  13. drill — army training
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. land — a country
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hand — help
  24. mine — for digging

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