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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. chip — to eat
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. chip — for betting
  13. row — a line
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. game — a match
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. row — to paddle
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stock — shares

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