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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. field — farmland
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. chest — of your body
  7. net — after costs
  8. tear — to rip
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — for catching
  11. toast — bread
  12. chip — to eat
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chest — of your body
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. net — in sport
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chest — a box
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. toast — the most admired

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