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

Word bank: lean · chip · club · wave · race · row

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. club — for dancing
  3. race — a contest
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. club — for golf
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chip — for betting
  8. lean — thin
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. race — humankind
  13. club — a group
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. row — to paddle

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