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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. field — a subject
  3. kid — to tease
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. face — part of the head
  6. chip — for betting
  7. field — for sport
  8. suit — in cards
  9. face — to confront
  10. plane — a tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. suit — clothes
  13. kid — child
  14. suit — to fit
  15. field — farmland
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. plane — in geometry

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