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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. present — there
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chip — to eat
  6. last — final
  7. field — for sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — to go on
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — the time now
  12. kick — in football
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — finally
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. field — farmland
  24. present — a gift

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