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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 · cap · field · row · wound · rock · land · rash

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rock — a stone
  5. land — a country
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — farmland
  8. row — a line
  9. land — to come down
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — a series
  18. land — ground
  19. field — a subject
  20. rash — hasty
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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