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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. ground — a position
  3. bat — the animal
  4. march — music
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. scale — in music
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — for sport
  13. scale — size or range
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. march — the month
  16. chip — for betting
  17. ground — the earth
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. field — farmland
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chip — to eat
  22. march — the month
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. game — a match

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