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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. field — for sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. field — farmland
  9. saw — the tool
  10. ground — crushed
  11. object — an aim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ground — a position
  16. object — to protest
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ground — the earth
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — of your body
  21. swing — to play on
  22. object — a thing
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chip — to eat

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