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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chip — for betting
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. content — the amount
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. dip — to sink
  12. hand — in cards
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. hand — help
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — a division
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. pit — in a race
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pit — a hole
  23. field — a subject
  24. content — happy

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