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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: mine · chip · wound · fall · land · lean · dip · tube

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fall — to drop
  3. land — ground
  4. wound — an injury
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. tube — a container
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. land — to come down
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lean — thin
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. dip — to sink
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. land — a country
  24. mine — an explosive

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