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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: rock · ball · field · spell · pound · straw · chip · nail

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chip — for betting
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spell — magic
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. field — farmland
  10. ball — a great time
  11. spell — a short time
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. field — a subject
  14. rock — music
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. field — for sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rock — a stone
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spell — letters
  21. pound — a weight
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pound — for dogs

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