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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. field — farmland
  3. net — after costs
  4. track — a song
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chip — to eat
  8. track — to keep track
  9. chip — for betting
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. net — for catching
  14. kick — in football
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. roll — a list
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. net — in sport
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. track — a path
  24. roll — a cake

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