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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: plane · game · present · bowl · chest · court · tear · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — there
  4. chest — a box
  5. present — a gift
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. court — of law
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. game — a match
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. court — of a king
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — to rip
  16. present — the time now
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — wild animals
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. court — for sport
  23. chip — to eat
  24. plane — 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