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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. file — a document
  3. club — a group
  4. field — for sport
  5. chip — for betting
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. field — a subject
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chip — to eat
  10. club — for dancing
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — in biology
  14. file — a line of people
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — farmland
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. file — a tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kid — child
  23. cell — a phone
  24. club — for golf

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