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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chip — to eat
  3. hand — help
  4. pop — to visit
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. file — a tool
  9. cap — a hat
  10. file — a line of people
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. race — humankind
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pop — music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. race — a contest
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. hand — in cards
  24. file — a document

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