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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 120 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. game — a match
  9. band — a ring
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. wake — a trail
  17. band — a music group
  18. fork — in a road
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. game — wild animals

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