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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. field — farmland
  4. content — the amount
  5. file — a document
  6. field — for sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. content — happy
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chip — to eat
  15. plane — a tool
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chair — a leader
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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