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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chip — to eat
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bank — for money
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chip — for betting
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bank — of a river
  22. tube — the underground
  23. game — a match
  24. tube — a container

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