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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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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. land — to come down
  7. fine — all right
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. branch — a division
  10. game — a match
  11. pop — music
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chip — for betting
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. land — ground
  19. pop — soda
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. land — a country
  23. pop — to visit
  24. game — wild animals

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