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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. net — after costs
  3. race — a contest
  4. game — wild animals
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chip — to eat
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. race — humankind
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. face — to point toward
  12. game — a match
  13. face — to confront
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. net — in sport
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — for catching
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. race — the arms race

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