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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: fork · stock · clip · present · game · ball · land · chip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — a gift
  4. land — ground
  5. chip — to eat
  6. land — to come down
  7. stock — shares
  8. present — the time now
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. land — a country
  12. ball — a dance
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — in a road
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stock — goods
  18. game — a match
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chip — for betting
  22. present — there
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fork — to eat with

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