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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. can — a tin
  3. field — farmland
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. field — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — a group
  10. chip — for betting
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. field — a subject
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a tool
  15. dip — to sink
  16. court — for sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. file — a document
  19. can — to be able to
  20. file — a line of people
  21. court — of a king
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. can — a tin
  24. club — for dancing

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