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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — farmland
  3. chip — for betting
  4. fall — the season
  5. game — a match
  6. chip — to eat
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — in biology
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. field — for sport
  14. cell — a phone
  15. net — in sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — wild animals
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. net — for catching
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. perch — the fish
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. net — after costs
  24. cell — in a prison

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