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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fall — the season
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — a subject
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. field — for sport
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — of a king

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