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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: season · key · file · field · fan · chip · nail · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. season — of the year
  5. field — for sport
  6. key — in music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. key — the most important part
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. field — farmland
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. file — a tool
  17. chip — for betting
  18. season — in sport
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. key — for a lock
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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