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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: bat · field · stock · season · bowl · track · chip · clip

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. stock — shares
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. field — a subject
  13. season — of the year
  14. clip — a video
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. season — in sport
  21. stock — goods
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — to cut
  24. track — to keep track

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