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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. land — ground
  3. chip — to eat
  4. field — farmland
  5. race — humankind
  6. chip — for betting
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. season — of the year
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. swing — in golf
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bear — the animal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. swing — to play on
  23. race — a contest
  24. tear — from crying

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