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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: chip · pop · press · scale · club · sharp · field · date

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. press — to push
  6. sharp — clever
  7. field — farmland
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. scale — size or range
  12. club — a group
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. scale — in music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. club — for golf
  21. date — the fruit
  22. press — newspapers
  23. field — a subject
  24. chip — to eat

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