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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: court · chip · rash · chair · swing · stock · spring · field

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. rash — a series
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. swing — in golf
  12. court — for sport
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chip — for betting
  15. court — of a king
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. court — of law
  19. field — farmland
  20. stock — goods
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stock — shares
  23. rash — hasty
  24. chair — a leader

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