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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · toast · field · stand · cold · spring · game · chip

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spring — of water
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. game — a match
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. spring — the season
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — a coil
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. chip — for betting
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chip — to eat
  19. clip — a video
  20. toast — bread
  21. cold — not warm
  22. field — for sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — the Cold War

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