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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 116 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: chip · deal · fork · kick · rock · file · degree · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kick — in football
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. degree — from a university
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. field — farmland
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. file — a tool
  11. chip — for betting
  12. degree — temperature
  13. file — a line of people
  14. field — a subject
  15. chip — to eat
  16. deal — to handle
  17. file — a document
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. rock — a stone

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