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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: spring · temple · chip · calf · cap · game · wind · field

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. field — farmland
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. chip — for betting
  7. field — for sport
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. field — a subject
  10. spring — of water
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. spring — the season
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. game — a match
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wind — moving air
  24. calf — a young animal

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