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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 120 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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. row — a line
  4. wind — moving air
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. game — a match
  8. net — after costs
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. game — wild animals
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. net — in sport
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. chip — to eat
  21. swing — in golf
  22. chip — for betting
  23. net — for catching
  24. chip — in a computer

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