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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. field — a subject
  4. clip — a video
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pass — a permit
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. fall — the season
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chip — to eat
  17. field — for sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. field — farmland
  20. fall — to drop
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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