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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mate — a partner
  5. ground — a position
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mate — a friend
  10. staff — employees
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. chip — for betting
  13. field — farmland
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. field — for sport
  17. ground — the earth
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mark — a grade
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mark — a trace
  23. ground — crushed
  24. field — a subject

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