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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. field — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. staff — employees
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — farmland
  18. foot — a measure
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. field — a subject
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. staff — a stick

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