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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. game — wild animals
  5. season — in sport
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. season — of the year
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rush — hurry
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — a match
  22. face — part of the head
  23. field — farmland
  24. sharp — clever

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