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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lean — to bend
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. field — a subject
  9. chip — to eat
  10. present — the time now
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. lean — thin
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. sharp — clever
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. field — for sport
  20. chip — for betting
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. lean — to rest against

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