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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: game · spring · pop · file · bark · chip · bear · rash

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. chip — to eat
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bark — to shout
  9. file — a line of people
  10. game — a match
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pop — to visit
  14. spring — of water
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rash — a series
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. file — a document
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bear — the animal
  24. file — a tool

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