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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chip — for betting
  4. field — farmland
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. scale — in music
  7. root — the cause
  8. field — a subject
  9. root — of a plant
  10. kid — child
  11. chip — to eat
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. court — for sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. scale — size or range
  16. kid — to tease
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. court — of a king
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. root — of a word
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. court — of law

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