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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 120 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 · bass · rash · pound · chip · snap · row · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chip — for betting
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rash — a series
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rash — hasty
  8. game — a match
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. snap — to click
  12. row — a line
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bass — the fish
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. chip — to eat
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. land — to come down
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. land — a country
  24. bass — low music

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