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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · game · wound · nail · field · bat · plane · chip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. chip — for betting
  10. plane — a tool
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. chip — to eat
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. game — a match
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — for sport
  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