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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. chip — to eat
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject

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