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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. field — farmland
  3. cue — a signal
  4. field — for sport
  5. cue — a hint
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. land — ground
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. land — a country
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. cell — in biology
  20. sharp — clever
  21. field — a subject
  22. land — to come down
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. chip — to eat

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