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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: file · mine · game · present · bass · bulb · chip · sharp

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. file — a tool
  3. present — a gift
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bass — low music
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. present — the time now
  10. bulb — for light
  11. file — a document
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. game — a match
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. present — there
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bulb — for light

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