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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. field — a subject
  4. rest — a break
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chip — to eat
  7. field — farmland
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. ground — the earth
  14. field — for sport
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — after costs
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ground — a position
  21. net — for catching
  22. hand — help
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ground — crushed

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