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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: chip · bowl · track · branch · bark · net · roll · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chip — to eat
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. track — a song
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. roll — a cake
  11. track — a path
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. roll — a list
  17. net — after costs
  18. track — to keep track
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bowl — a football final

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