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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 · spell · tear · club · board · cold · arm · stock

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. stock — shares
  5. chip — to eat
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tear — from crying
  9. board — a committee
  10. chip — for betting
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — for golf
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spell — magic
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stock — goods
  24. cold — the Cold War

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