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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 · press · court · file · game · perch · land · staff

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. file — a tool
  4. game — a match
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chip — for betting
  7. court — for sport
  8. press — newspapers
  9. court — of law
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. staff — employees
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — wild animals
  15. land — ground
  16. staff — employees
  17. land — to come down
  18. staff — a stick
  19. court — of a king
  20. chip — to eat
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — a country
  23. press — to push
  24. file — a document

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