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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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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 · firm · roll · chest · mouse · mine · land · snap

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. chest — a box
  3. land — to come down
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. firm — a company
  6. roll — a list
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. land — a country
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. firm — decided
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. firm — steady
  19. snap — to click
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chair — a leader
  22. land — ground
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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