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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. chip — for betting
  4. branch — a division
  5. mark — a trace
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. capital — a city
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. field — for sport
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. capital — money
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mark — a grade
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. field — a subject
  24. mark — to pay attention

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