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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: press · game · content · kid · firm · craft · chip · field

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. field — for sport
  3. craft — boats
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. content — happy
  7. kid — child
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. firm — decided
  11. press — to push
  12. craft — a skill
  13. press — a publisher
  14. chip — to eat
  15. game — a match
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — wild animals
  18. firm — a company
  19. field — farmland
  20. chip — for betting
  21. press — newspapers
  22. firm — steady
  23. kid — to tease
  24. content — the amount

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