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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. club — for golf
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. key — in music
  5. last — final
  6. file — a document
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. chip — for betting
  9. file — a tool
  10. chip — to eat
  11. field — for sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. club — for dancing
  16. key — for a lock
  17. hand — help
  18. file — a line of people
  19. key — the most important part
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. last — finally
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. club — a group

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