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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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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. season — of the year
  3. game — wild animals
  4. net — after costs
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. chip — to eat
  10. season — in sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — for sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. chip — for betting

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