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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chip — to eat
  4. field — farmland
  5. content — happy
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chip — for betting
  9. field — for sport
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — help
  13. cue — a signal
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hand — in cards
  19. content — the amount
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a hint

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