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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chip — for betting
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chip — to eat
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. track — a path
  13. rash — a series
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. track — to keep track
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. plane — a tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. track — a song

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