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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: chip · club · net · file · game · calf · roll · wind

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chip — for betting
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for dancing
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. roll — a list
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chip — to eat
  11. game — a match
  12. wind — moving air
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a document
  17. club — a group
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. net — in sport
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. game — wild animals
  24. roll — a cake

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