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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 120 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: pound · net · bowl · last · chip · cell · racket · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cell — a phone
  4. last — to go on
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cell — in biology
  8. last — finally
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pound — a weight
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. net — for catching
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. rush — hurry
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. last — final
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. net — in sport
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. net — after costs

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