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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. field — farmland
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. date — the fruit
  6. field — a subject
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. field — for sport
  16. band — a music group
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chip — for betting

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