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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chip — to eat
  5. club — a group
  6. branch — a division
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pop — to visit
  10. clip — a video
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. club — for dancing
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pop — music
  15. kid — to tease
  16. field — for sport
  17. kid — child
  18. chip — for betting
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pop — soda
  24. field — farmland

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