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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 116 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: hand · branch · chip · land · wind · pound · pass · stock

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stock — goods
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. hand — help
  12. chip — to eat
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chip — for betting
  16. land — to come down
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. branch — a division
  19. pass — a permit
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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