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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 120 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: plane · cell · temple · straw · game · stock · row · chip

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — a line
  3. game — a match
  4. row — to paddle
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stock — shares
  10. plane — a tool
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cell — a phone
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stock — goods
  20. game — wild animals
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cell — in a prison

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