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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 · ball · current · fork · game · rule · tube · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — a match
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rule — a law
  8. chest — a box
  9. current — of water
  10. tube — a container
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. field — a subject
  13. ball — a dance
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rule — government
  16. ball — a great time
  17. current — electric
  18. field — farmland
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. current — happening now
  24. chest — of your body

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