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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: chip · toast · mouse · branch · clip · bank · race · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. branch — a division
  3. chip — for betting
  4. toast — bread
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bank — of a river
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — a video
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. race — humankind
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bank — for money
  19. game — a match
  20. race — a contest
  21. chip — to eat
  22. race — the arms race
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bank — for money

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