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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: game · chip · sharp · bore · wave · stock · ground · land

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stock — shares
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. ground — a position
  6. land — to come down
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. stock — goods
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bore — to drill
  15. land — ground
  16. sharp — clever
  17. game — a match
  18. bore — to tire
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ground — the earth
  22. game — wild animals
  23. land — a country
  24. stock — a soup base

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