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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: mine · clip · cap · game · bowl · perch · stem · chip

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chip — for betting
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cap — a hat
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cap — a lid
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cap — of ice
  21. game — wild animals
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — a match
  24. perch — 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