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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: cell · toast · coach · club · field · chip · net · stick

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chip — to eat
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. club — for golf
  8. field — for sport
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. net — for catching
  11. cell — in biology
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. net — after costs
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — in sport
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. club — for dancing
  18. field — a subject
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. field — farmland
  21. toast — bread
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. club — a group

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