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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. field — a subject
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. field — farmland
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mine — for digging
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. chip — for betting
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. clip — a video
  21. field — for sport
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. foot — a measure
  24. chip — in a computer

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