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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. field — farmland
  4. clip — a video
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mug — a face
  7. present — the time now
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. hand — help
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. ground — a position
  16. club — for dancing
  17. present — there
  18. mug — to rob
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mug — a cup
  21. ground — the earth
  22. chip — to eat
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. present — a gift

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