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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. clip — for paper
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. staff — employees
  7. cell — in biology
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chip — to eat
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chip — for betting
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. staff — a stick
  18. clip — a video
  19. scale — in music
  20. season — of the year
  21. field — a subject
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. staff — employees

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