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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · bat · chip · bass · deal · fan · kid · game

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chip — for betting
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bass — low music
  8. object — a thing
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. object — to protest
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. object — an aim
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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