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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: squash · club · chest · chip · field · pass · wake · tear

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. squash — the sport
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. squash — to crush
  7. club — a group
  8. chest — a box
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. field — farmland
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chip — to eat
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chip — for betting
  23. field — for sport
  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