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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. present — the time now
  6. field — for sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. present — there
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — a video
  15. field — farmland
  16. craft — boats
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. craft — a skill
  22. chip — to eat
  23. field — a subject
  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