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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. spring — a coil
  3. field — for sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rest — a break
  6. pit — a hole
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. pit — in a race
  10. spring — of water
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chip — for betting
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chip — to eat

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