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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 · staff · chip · game · bear · saw · race · hand

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. staff — employees
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. net — after costs
  5. saw — the tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chip — for betting
  9. net — for catching
  10. game — a match
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chip — to eat
  13. race — humankind
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. staff — employees
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. staff — a stick
  20. hand — help
  21. race — a contest
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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