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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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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chip — for betting
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chip — to eat
  7. clip — a video
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. key — for a lock
  10. present — there
  11. spell — a short time
  12. craft — a skill
  13. present — a gift
  14. clip — for paper
  15. key — in music
  16. spell — letters
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spell — magic
  20. key — the most important part
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mine — for digging
  23. present — the time now
  24. fork — to eat with

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