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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: chair · bound · kick · bat · root · date · land · chip

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — tied together
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. land — a country
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bound — certain
  18. land — to come down
  19. kick — in football
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chip — for betting
  24. land — ground

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