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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · kick · pit · bark · field · fan · ball · chip

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pit — in a race
  6. kick — in football
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — the season
  9. ball — a great time
  10. field — farmland
  11. chip — for betting
  12. spring — of water
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bark — to shout
  20. field — a subject
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. field — for sport
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pit — a hole

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