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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. field — for sport
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spring — the season
  6. chip — to eat
  7. field — farmland
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. field — a subject
  13. plane — a tool
  14. deal — to handle
  15. spring — of water
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. chip — for betting
  21. dip — to sink
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. spring — a coil

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