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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 116 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: land · chair · fall · key · kid · nail · staff · chip

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chair — a leader
  3. staff — employees
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kid — to tease
  9. key — the most important part
  10. land — ground
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fall — the season
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. kid — child
  15. land — to come down
  16. chip — for betting
  17. key — in music
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fall — to drop
  21. key — for a lock
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — a country
  24. staff — a stick

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