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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. land — a country
  3. field — for sport
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. field — a subject
  6. chip — to eat
  7. field — farmland
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. spell — a short time
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — from a university
  12. land — to come down
  13. lean — thin
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. spell — letters
  16. chip — for betting
  17. game — wild animals
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spell — magic
  23. land — ground
  24. degree — an amount

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