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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 120 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: nail · track · land · tear · chip · lean · charge · chest

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. track — a song
  6. chest — of your body
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. lean — to bend
  9. tear — from crying
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. land — ground
  12. lean — thin
  13. land — a country
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chip — to eat
  16. land — to come down
  17. chest — a box
  18. track — a path
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — in control
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. charge — a price
  24. chip — for betting

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