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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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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: club · chip · mate · wind · rest · game · bay · ground

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rest — a break
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. mate — a partner
  7. ground — crushed
  8. club — for golf
  9. rest — what's left
  10. club — a group
  11. game — a match
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. chip — for betting
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ground — a position
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. mate — to breed
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. club — for dancing

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