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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chip — to eat
  3. net — for catching
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. wake — a trail
  9. row — to paddle
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. row — a line
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. key — the most important part
  20. season — of the year
  21. chip — for betting
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. cabinet — ministers

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