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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 116 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: root · game · chair · tear · hand · track · bowl · chip

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. track — a path
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — a leader
  7. root — of a word
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — help
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hand — in cards
  19. tear — from crying
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. chip — to eat
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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