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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cap — a hat
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. last — final
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. chip — to eat
  13. last — finally
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cell — in biology
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. land — a country
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. last — to go on
  20. field — a subject
  21. cap — of ice
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — to come down
  24. cap — a lid

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