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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: club · can · chip · race · net · mine · bark · scale

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — in music
  6. club — for dancing
  7. can — a tin
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. scale — size or range
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bark — to shout
  15. club — a group
  16. net — for catching
  17. club — for golf
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. race — humankind

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