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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: pit · field · mine · wound · chip · lash · rest · scale

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pit — in a race
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — a subject
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. rest — a break
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. field — farmland
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. field — for sport
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. scale — in music

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