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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 120 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: ball · game · kick · spring · bank · clip · track · chip

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chip — for betting
  3. spring — the season
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. track — a path
  6. bank — of a river
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bank — for money
  11. chip — to eat
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bank — for money
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kick — in football
  16. game — a match
  17. ball — a great time
  18. clip — a video
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. spring — a coil
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. clip — for paper

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