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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: bat · band · pop · net · ball · game · snap · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. snap — to click
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. band — a ring
  8. chip — to eat
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pop — soda
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. net — for catching
  15. band — a music group
  16. pop — music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. game — a match
  19. net — in sport
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pop — to visit
  22. net — after costs
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bat — the animal

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