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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. season — of the year
  5. chip — for betting
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. key — the most important part
  8. shower — rain
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. field — for sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. scale — in music
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — size or range
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. stand — to bear
  18. season — in sport
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. key — for a lock
  21. chip — to eat
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. key — in music
  24. season — to add flavour

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