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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. march — the month
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. march — music
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. court — of law
  10. current — of water
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — in a road
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — for sport
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cell — a phone
  19. current — happening now
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. current — electric
  23. court — of a king
  24. clip — to cut

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