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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: fine · object · chair · file · pop · deal · chip · hand

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. chip — to eat
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chip — for betting
  7. hand — help
  8. object — to protest
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pop — to visit
  14. file — a document
  15. pop — music
  16. object — an aim
  17. pop — soda
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fine — all right
  20. object — a thing
  21. fine — high quality
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. file — a tool
  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