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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chip — for betting
  5. press — newspapers
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. present — there
  12. net — for catching
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. press — to push
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. net — after costs
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wind — moving air
  22. net — in sport
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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