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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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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: racket · fork · object · season · field · arm · clip · chip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chip — to eat
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. season — in sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. object — to protest
  14. clip — to cut
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — a video
  19. object — a thing
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fork — in a road
  23. field — farmland
  24. object — an aim

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