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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 · bowl · nail · clip · land · pound · dip · branch

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — a weight
  3. branch — a division
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. land — a country
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. land — to come down
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. dip — to sink
  24. branch — of a bank

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