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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chip — for betting
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. shower — rain
  8. field — farmland
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. suit — in cards
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kick — in football
  16. ground — a position
  17. field — a subject
  18. suit — to fit
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bat — the animal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. suit — clothes

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