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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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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 · chip · tear · pop · mine · key · bound · band

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pop — music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. key — in music
  6. land — to come down
  7. key — the most important part
  8. land — ground
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. chip — for betting
  13. band — a ring
  14. tear — from crying
  15. land — a country
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bound — certain
  22. chip — to eat
  23. band — a music group
  24. bound — obliged

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