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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: chip · charge · bank · court · tube · mine · row · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. chip — to eat
  4. tube — a container
  5. charge — a price
  6. net — for catching
  7. tube — the underground
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bank — for money
  10. court — of law
  11. bank — for money
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mine — for digging
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bank — of a river
  18. court — for sport
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. charge — electricity
  23. charge — in control
  24. court — of a king

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