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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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468
Word bank
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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mark — a trace
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pit — in a race
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. mark — a grade
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pit — a hole

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