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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: board · prune · row · game · chip · bowl · track · net

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. track — to keep track
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. net — for catching
  8. track — a song
  9. game — wild animals
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. net — after costs
  12. board — to get on
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. chip — to eat
  15. row — to paddle
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. track — a path
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. net — in sport
  22. board — a committee
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. row — a line

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