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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. game — a match
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. capital — money
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pop — soda
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pop — music
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. capital — a city
  22. fall — the season
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pass — a permit

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