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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: charge · pop · bowl · wind · clip · chest · stock · chip

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chip — to eat
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — of your body
  9. charge — a price
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chest — a box
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. charge — in control
  18. chest — of your body
  19. charge — electricity
  20. pop — music
  21. stock — goods
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pop — soda

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