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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: field · mark · stem · row · date · pop · game · chip

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chip — to eat
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pop — music
  12. mark — a trace
  13. row — a line
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mark — a grade
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — for sport
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. chip — for betting

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