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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ball — a great time
  9. field — farmland
  10. march — the month
  11. stock — goods
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. march — music
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stock — shares
  19. file — a tool
  20. chip — to eat
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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