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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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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: snap · trunk · mate · cold · chip · bay · pound · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. chip — to eat
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mate — a partner
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mate — to breed
  21. snap — to click
  22. pound — a weight
  23. chip — for betting
  24. pound — to hit hard

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