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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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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: wave · kid · chip · land · branch · key · pit · calf

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. key — for a lock
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pit — a hole
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. chip — to eat
  9. land — a country
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. key — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. pit — in a race
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. branch — a division
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. land — to come down

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