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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. current — of water
  6. chip — to eat
  7. clip — to cut
  8. net — after costs
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. land — to come down
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chip — for betting
  13. net — in sport
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. land — ground
  16. net — for catching
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. clip — a video
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. land — a country

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