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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. field — farmland
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. field — for sport
  5. suit — to fit
  6. scale — in music
  7. chip — for betting
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. suit — in cards
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rash — a series
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. suit — clothes
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bore — to tire
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rash — hasty
  22. field — a subject
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bore — to drill

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