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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. court — of law
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. court — of a king
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chip — to eat
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. mate — a partner
  18. tear — from crying

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