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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. net — in sport
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. staff — employees
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. staff — a stick
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. net — for catching
  20. game — a match
  21. staff — employees
  22. chip — for betting
  23. net — after costs
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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