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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 116 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: kid · bark · bowl · hand · fine · fan · chip · pit

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fine — all right
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kid — child
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. kid — to tease
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chip — in a computer

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