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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mate — a partner
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kid — child
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bank — of a river
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cell — in biology
  12. hand — help
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mate — to breed
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bank — for money
  21. field — a subject
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rest — a break
  24. bank — for money

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