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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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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: date · plane · mark · cold · fall · chip · root · field

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. mark — a trace
  3. field — a subject
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cold — an illness
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. field — for sport
  9. chip — for betting
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. mark — a grade
  13. field — farmland
  14. root — of a word
  15. fall — to drop
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fall — to drop
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. fall — the season

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