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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 · shower · kid · ball · stock · board · hand · snap

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kid — child
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. shower — rain
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. chip — for betting
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stock — goods
  21. ball — a great time
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. snap — to click

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