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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chip — for betting
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. club — a group
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — a subject
  14. wake — a trail
  15. branch — a division
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. field — for sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chip — to eat
  21. club — for dancing
  22. field — farmland
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. club — for golf

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