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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. firm — a company
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — after costs
  7. chip — for betting
  8. net — for catching
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cold — not warm
  12. object — to protest
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. game — wild animals
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. firm — steady
  20. charge — electricity
  21. firm — decided
  22. game — a match
  23. fork — in a road
  24. net — in sport

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