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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: game · nail · last · chest · chip · rash · mine · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  3. last — to go on
  4. game — a match
  5. chip — to eat
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. last — finally
  12. chip — for betting
  13. rash — hasty
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rash — a series
  16. last — final
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chest — a box
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — of your body
  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