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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. row — a line
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cue — a signal
  8. field — farmland
  9. cue — a hint
  10. craft — a skill
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. chip — for betting
  15. craft — boats
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fork — in a road
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cue — for pool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pit — a hole
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pit — in a race

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