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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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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: race · clip · chip · fork · field · squash · bay · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. race — a contest
  3. cell — a phone
  4. squash — to crush
  5. clip — a video
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. field — for sport
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. clip — to cut
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fork — in a road
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. squash — the sport
  24. race — humankind

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