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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: tear · field · net · staff · stick · coach · pass · chip

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. staff — a stick
  12. chip — to eat
  13. field — a subject
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. net — for catching
  17. pass — a permit
  18. field — farmland
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — for sport
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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