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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: pop · kid · stock · chip · chest · clip · game · nail

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stock — shares
  4. kid — to tease
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chest — a box
  8. chip — for betting
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. game — a match
  13. pop — music
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pop — soda
  17. chip — to eat
  18. stock — goods
  19. chest — of your body
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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