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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spell — magic
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. field — for sport
  13. spell — letters
  14. game — a match
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. field — farmland
  17. game — wild animals
  18. march — music
  19. cap — of ice
  20. chip — for betting
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — a hat
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cap — a lid

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