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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chip · perch · wound · land · pitcher · stem · game · row

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. perch — the fish
  7. row — a line
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — to come down
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. land — a country
  14. chip — to eat
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. land — ground
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. game — a match

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