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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. 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. field — a subject
  2. chip — to eat
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. key — for a lock
  7. can — a tin
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — for sport
  10. perch — the fish
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spring — the season
  13. field — farmland
  14. spring — of water
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. key — in music
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. spring — a coil
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. key — the most important part
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. 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