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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kick — in football
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. tear — to rip
  11. hand — help
  12. file — a document
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hand — in cards
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. file — a tool
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. fork — in a road

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