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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: spell · field · scale · drill · pop · coach · cold · chip

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. field — for sport
  5. cold — an illness
  6. field — farmland
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spell — a short time
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. scale — in music
  12. chip — to eat
  13. drill — army training
  14. chip — for betting
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spell — letters
  18. field — a subject
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. spell — magic
  22. pop — soda
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cold — the Cold War

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