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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.

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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 · land · sharp · pop · stem · wake · racket · pitcher

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pop — to visit
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pop — music
  11. land — to come down
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pop — soda
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. land — a country
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wake — a trail
  24. sharp — clever

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