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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: jam · field · ground · arm · fan · chip · cold · chair

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. field — farmland
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ground — crushed
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. field — for sport
  11. chip — to eat
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ground — a position
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. ground — the earth
  18. field — a subject
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cold — not warm

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