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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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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: field · present · court · current · plane · chip · chest · kid

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — child
  3. present — there
  4. current — of water
  5. present — a gift
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. kid — to tease
  10. court — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. current — electric
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. field — a subject
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. court — of a king
  18. chip — for betting
  19. current — happening now
  20. field — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — a box
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

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