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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — to cut
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fork — in a road
  10. clip — a video
  11. charge — in control
  12. kid — child
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — electricity
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. game — a match
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — for paper
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chip — for betting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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