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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: net · chip · hand · ground · arm · band · game · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. band — a ring
  7. hand — help
  8. chair — a leader
  9. game — a match
  10. net — in sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. band — a music group
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — the earth
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. net — after costs
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chip — for betting
  20. net — for catching
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chip — to eat

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