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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 · saw · pit · drill · lean · cell · stock · chip

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. field — farmland
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lean — to bend
  9. field — a subject
  10. saw — the tool
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chip — for betting
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stock — shares
  16. field — for sport
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. drill — army training
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stock — goods
  24. saw — the tool

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