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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: chip · mine · drill · branch · land · pitch · calf · snap

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chip — to eat
  3. land — a country
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. drill — a practice
  11. branch — a division
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. snap — to click
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitch — completely
  19. land — ground
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. mine — belonging to me

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