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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: field · spring · chip · dip · bass · cell · stick · chair

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spring — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. field — a subject
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. field — for sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chip — to eat
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — farmland
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chip — for betting
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chair — a leader

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