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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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. fan — a supporter
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. kid — child
  6. chip — to eat
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. field — a subject
  13. pass — a permit
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. band — a ring
  22. cell — in biology
  23. field — farmland
  24. band — a music group

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