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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bass — low music
  7. bound — certain
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bound — obliged

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