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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · bowl · chip · rule · chair · game

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rule — a law
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rule — government
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document

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