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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: spell · chip · content · file · ball · club · dip · field

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. club — for dancing
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. content — happy
  10. spell — letters
  11. club — for golf
  12. chip — for betting
  13. club — a group
  14. chip — to eat
  15. dip — to sink
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — the amount
  18. file — a document
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. ball — a great time
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ball — a round shape

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