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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · tear · field · present · club · date

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. field — for sport
  3. present — there
  4. chip — for betting
  5. tear — from crying
  6. club — for golf
  7. field — farmland
  8. tear — to rip
  9. club — for dancing
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. club — a group
  12. present — the time now
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. date — the fruit
  16. chip — to eat
  17. field — a subject
  18. date — on the calendar

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