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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 · content · chip · mate · branch · board · spring · date

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. mate — a partner
  3. field — a subject
  4. chip — for betting
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. field — farmland
  7. mate — to breed
  8. date — the fruit
  9. spring — the season
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. branch — a division
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. content — happy
  16. field — for sport
  17. board — a committee
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mate — a friend
  20. spring — a coil
  21. board — to get on
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. content — the amount
  24. spring — of water

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