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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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468
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: stock · roll · chip · ball · rash · bark · cold · sharp

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ball — a dance
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. stock — shares
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. rash — a series
  15. roll — a list
  16. chip — to eat
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stock — goods
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. rash — hasty
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — with an edge

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