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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 · bass · cap · land · hand · game · pass · racket

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cap — a hat
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. hand — help
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cap — a lid
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. chip — for betting
  16. land — ground
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. land — a country
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. land — to come down

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