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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — ground
  3. field — for sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. field — a subject
  6. chip — for betting
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. key — for a lock
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. row — a line
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. net — for catching
  22. vault — a safe
  23. land — to come down
  24. row — to paddle

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