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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. craft — boats
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — of law
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. court — for sport
  8. branch — a division
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. track — a path
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. track — a song
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cold — an illness
  17. court — of a king
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. kid — child
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kid — to tease

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