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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pit — in a race
  4. land — a country
  5. field — a subject
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. swing — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — for sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chip — for betting
  20. swing — in golf
  21. march — the month
  22. land — ground
  23. chip — to eat
  24. nail — on a finger

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