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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 120 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: chest · pop · fine · snap · nail · chip · pass · field

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chip — to eat
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to click
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. pass — a permit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. field — for sport
  11. pop — to visit
  12. chest — a box
  13. chip — for betting
  14. field — farmland
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — high quality
  20. pop — music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — a subject
  23. pop — soda
  24. fine — all right

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