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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: mine · cap · wind · field · chip · prune · bay · key

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wind — moving air
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. field — for sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chip — to eat
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — farmland
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. key — in music
  24. field — a subject

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