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

Word bank: chip · board · cold · hide · file · leaves · net · field

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. file — a line of people
  4. net — for catching
  5. board — to get on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chip — for betting
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. net — after costs
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. net — in sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. field — farmland
  24. leaves — lets stay

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