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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hand — help
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chip — to eat
  7. band — a music group
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. net — in sport
  14. court — of law
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — for sport
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bark — to shout
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. court — of a king
  24. band — a ring

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