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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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 — for sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. clip — a video
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. fall — the season
  8. rash — hasty
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chip — to eat
  11. field — a subject
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chest — a box
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chest — of your body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. rash — a series
  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