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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · chair · fan · bound · object · prune · wind · land

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. wind — moving air
  3. object — to protest
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — a country
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. bound — obliged
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — to come down
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chair — a leader
  22. land — ground
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bound — certain

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