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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. field — for sport
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. field — farmland
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mine — for digging
  13. branch — a division
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mate — to breed

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