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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: hand · club · kid · game · field · firm · can · chip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. kid — child
  3. field — a subject
  4. firm — a company
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — help
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. field — for sport
  10. can — to be able to
  11. club — a group
  12. can — a tin
  13. hand — in cards
  14. club — for dancing
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. firm — steady
  18. kid — to tease
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — farmland
  21. game — a match
  22. club — for golf
  23. firm — decided
  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