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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: cell · bulb · kick · club · rock · chip · net · game

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. net — after costs
  3. bulb — for light
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cell — a phone
  7. club — a group
  8. net — in sport
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. game — a match
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. club — for golf
  15. kick — in football
  16. net — for catching
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. club — for dancing
  20. rock — music
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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