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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: wound · chest · spell · pound · board · chip · dip · track

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chip — for betting
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. chest — a box
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wound — an injury
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. board — to get on
  13. track — to keep track
  14. chip — to eat
  15. spell — magic
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. track — a song
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. spell — letters
  21. track — a path
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. dip — a sauce

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