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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. field — farmland
  10. content — happy
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pop — to visit
  13. content — the amount
  14. pop — music
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pop — soda
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rash — a series
  24. date — the fruit

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