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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. field — farmland
  6. staff — employees
  7. ground — the earth
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. field — for sport
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. staff — employees
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cold — not warm
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — an illness
  17. roll — a list
  18. field — a subject
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. chip — to eat
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cabinet — ministers

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