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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. chip — to eat
  3. spring — a coil
  4. current — happening now
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spell — magic
  7. chip — for betting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. current — of water
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. spell — letters
  12. fork — in a road
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spring — of water
  16. snap — to click
  17. spring — the season
  18. current — electric
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rock — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. rock — a stone

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