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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 · chair · tube · nail · saw · dip · cold · track

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cold — not warm
  6. track — a path
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. land — a country
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. land — to come down
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cold — an illness
  21. saw — the tool
  22. track — a song
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chair — to sit on

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