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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. chip — for betting
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. net — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a tool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. file — a line of people
  12. roll — a list
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. game — a match
  16. roll — a cake
  17. net — after costs
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. file — a document
  20. bear — the animal
  21. net — for catching
  22. chip — to eat
  23. hand — part of the body
  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