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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: chip · hide · ball · stock · wind · fine · snap · land

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. land — to come down
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. land — a country
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to click
  16. ball — a dance
  17. chip — for betting
  18. land — ground
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stock — goods
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ball — a great time
  23. fine — all right
  24. chip — to eat

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