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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. race — the arms race
  3. kid — child
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. file — a line of people
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chip — for betting
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. file — a document
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. chip — to eat

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