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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 120 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chest — of your body
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bass — the fish
  12. field — for sport
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. field — a subject
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bass — low music
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chest — of your body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chest — a box
  23. field — farmland
  24. clip — for paper

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