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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 120 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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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: foot · pound · field · tear · deal · chip · chair · mine

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. deal — to handle
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chip — for betting
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. chip — to eat

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