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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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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chip — for betting
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. current — electric
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — in a road
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bear — the animal
  16. current — happening now
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cold — not warm
  20. suit — in cards
  21. current — of water
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cold — an illness
  24. march — the month

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