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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. track — a song
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — shares
  6. chip — for betting
  7. track — to keep track
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — wild animals
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — goods
  16. track — a path
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. fine — all right
  19. hand — in cards
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. game — a match
  24. patient — a sick person

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