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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. field — farmland
  3. chip — for betting
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bass — low music
  8. race — humankind
  9. kid — child
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. race — a contest
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. club — for dancing
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bass — the fish
  23. race — the arms race
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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