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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. foot — a measure
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — of water
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — to eat
  14. spring — the season
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — a coil
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. mine — for digging
  24. capital — a city

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