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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 124 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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — help
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fork — in a road
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chip — for betting
  9. current — of water
  10. bat — the animal
  11. current — electric
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. current — happening now
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — army training
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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