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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: land · game · club · chip · stem · ball · spell · squash

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. game — wild animals
  3. land — a country
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ball — a dance
  6. land — ground
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. land — to come down
  12. spell — letters
  13. game — a match
  14. club — for golf
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ball — a great time
  21. club — for dancing
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. spell — a short time
  24. club — a group

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