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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. field — for sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. club — for dancing
  8. chip — to eat
  9. charge — a price
  10. kick — in football
  11. club — a group
  12. charge — electricity
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. mark — a trace
  16. charge — in control
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mark — a grade
  20. field — a subject
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — farmland
  24. wound — an injury

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