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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. file — a document
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. scale — in music
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. file — a tool
  8. field — farmland
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. field — a subject
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — for sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wind — moving air
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. kick — in football
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wind — moving air
  24. scale — for weighing

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