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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: leaves · band · kid · mark · mine · chip · roll · chair

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. roll — a cake
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kid — child
  6. mark — a trace
  7. roll — a list
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chip — to eat
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chair — a leader
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. leaves — to go away

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