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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fork — in a road
  3. row — to paddle
  4. scale — in music
  5. chip — for betting
  6. current — electric
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. row — a line
  9. field — farmland
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. current — of water
  15. field — for sport
  16. current — happening now
  17. field — a subject
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. perch — the fish
  22. scale — size or range
  23. hand — in cards
  24. perch — for a bird

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