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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: roll · chest · land · charge · bowl · pit · staff · bound

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. staff — a stick
  3. charge — electricity
  4. land — ground
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. staff — employees
  11. pit — in a race
  12. charge — in control
  13. charge — a price
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. land — a country
  16. bound — certain
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. land — to come down
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. roll — a list
  24. staff — employees

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