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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chip — for betting
  4. race — humankind
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chip — to eat
  9. degree — from a university
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. race — a contest
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. row — a line
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fork — in a road
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. row — to paddle
  19. race — the arms race
  20. scale — in music
  21. current — electric
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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